Information for Problem/Opportunity Statement
Food Safety Certification – ServSafe and SuperSafe Mark
The Pennsylvania Food Employee Certification Act requires that each Pennsylvania licensed food establishment shall have at least one person certified in food safety. In response, Penn State Cooperative Extension developed the Statewide Food Safety Certification Program (SFSCP), which provides 16-hours of training and is taught by Cooperative Extension field-based educators. The National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe program is offered collaboratively with Penn State Continuing Education and Penn State campuses and/or with local organizations and is the basis of the (SFSCP). To serve the needs of food handlers with various ethnic backgrounds, courses have been offered in Spanish, Italian, and Chinese. In addition to those employed by restaurants, food preparers in schools, child-care centers, hospitals, and nursing homes have also enrolled in this training. SuperSafe Mark, a 16-hour training program specific to grocery stores, has also been offered to meet the requirement of Pennsylvania Food Service Employee Certification Act.Front-line Food Safety Training
Pennsylvania is the largest food processing state in the Northeast with more than 1,000 food manufacturers and processors. The safety of food products depends on front-line employees who frequently have little or no formal training in food safety. Front-line food safety training addresses the particular needs of individual food processors. In addition, these on-site trainings save travel and time costs associated with sending employees to a workshop.Cooking For Crowds
Many non-profit volunteer led community organizations, such as fire departments, churches, civic groups, granges, etc. serve food in various ways as fund raising projects. Most of the volunteers who prepare and serve this food have had no training in food safety. Cooking for Crowds was designed to meet the need for food safety education for the volunteer food handler.Home Food Preservation
Many consumers in Pennsylvania preserve food at home and need up-to-date information to safely conduct these procedures. Extension educators provide current information through a variety of educational programs, as well as news releases, fact sheets, exhibits, and displays.Hunter Food Safety
Each year, over 1 million hunting licenses are issued to Pennsylvania residents. Research by Extension faculty at Penn State has shown that pathogens such as E. coli 0157:H7 exist in the deer population and other wildlife species. Cooperative Extension field-based educators offer programs, information, and displays that educate hunters and other individuals about animal health, proper procedures related to field dressing, game meat safety, and preserving game meat.Food Safety for Consumers
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 76 million foodborne illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths occur in the United States each year. The economic impact of foodborne illness, in terms of medical care, lost wages and associated costs, is estimated to be in the billions of dollars per year. Foodborne illness not only results in minor bouts of gastroenteritis or minor flu-like symptoms, but also serious, life-threatening health problems such as arthritis, Guillain-Barré Syndrome, or Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. Food safety education should be a high priority for consumers. The Healthy People 2010 and the USDA Dietary Guidelines both include safe food handling in their recommendations. A variety of food safety programs taught by Cooperative Extension field-based educators have the potential to impact the incidence of foodborne illness across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and ultimately, the United States.