Health And Safety

As the school year kicks off, it’s time for a crash course in lunchbox food safety. Here’s a study guide to help you pass any food safety pop quizzes when packing lunches.

The United States was impacted by more than 52,000 wildfires in 2020. Not only are wildfires damaging to homes, wildlife and health, they also pose risks to food and cookware. Here are some tips to prevent foodborne illness before and after a wildfire. Please note, make sure you are at a safe distance from the fire and have time to prepare before packing food. If feasible, evacuate before being told to do so.

Before the summer closes out, many will embark on one last getaway. While you’re packing the suntan lotion, bug spray and camping gear, don’t forget your fundamentals for food safety.

It’s estimated that a family of four wastes on average $1,500 a year on food that goes uneaten. As kids go back to school, we wanted to share some easy tips you can use to reduce food waste in your child’s packed lunch.

According to Department of Energy data, a recent analysis found that weather-related power outages are up by 67 percent since 2000. Climate change and aging infrastructure are putting a heavy burden on our power grid and the communities they serve. As temperatures rise this summer, so will the consumption of electricity. This may cause some power grids to experience blackouts, an unexpected loss of power lasting minutes, hours or days.

Meal kits became more popular during the pandemic, as many households opted for food delivery due to stay at home orders and preferences for maintaining social distancing. Do these kits also help reduce food waste? Dr. Brenna Ellison, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, provides insights based on her study with USDA on meal kits.

This Fourth of July, join the revolution against foodborne illness. Summer’s rising temperatures make picnics a playground for bacteria as families prepare, cook, and eat food outside. Here are some tips to keep you safe:

Life is getting back to normal with more people being vaccinated and meeting friends at restaurants. Bringing home leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day is becoming ordinary again. Don’t invite bacteria to your next meal. Here are some food safety tips so you can enjoy your restaurant leftovers without getting foodborne illness.

In the United States, more than one-third of all available food goes uneaten through loss or waste and when landfilled it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted our first ever USDA Food Loss and Waste Innovation Fair. This free, virtual fair highlighted businesses that are creating or implementing state-of-the-art technical solutions to reduce food loss and waste throughout the food system – from farm to table – and highlighted USDA activities in this space.

This year’s World Food Safety Day theme is “food safety is everyone’s business.” One group with members around the world is focused on the business of science-based food standards to protect consumer health.