Food Safety Week 2009
Food Safety Week is an annual event held to promote the importance of good food hygiene in the home. This year Food Safety Week will be taking place between 15–21 June 2009.
For 2009 the focus will be on people over 60 and the need for correct storage and handling of food in the home. The reason for focusing on this audience is the recent sharp rise in cases of listeria specifically within this age group – the number of cases in the over 60s has doubled since 2001 and it causes more deaths each year than salmonella and E. coli O157 combined.
A range of events will be taking place across the UK in local councils, community groups and schools to highlight the importance of food safety and hygiene in the home and promote the 4 Cs (cooking, cleaning, chilling and cross-contamination).
To support these local events we have produced a range of publicity materials and these are available free of charge. Details of the resources can be found below, they include leaflets, posters, fridge thermometers and a schools booklet, balloons and stickers.
Resources are available throughout the year, not just for Food Safety Week, so if you are planning to organise an event after Food Safety Week to promote good food hygiene, you can still order posters, leaflets and other materials by contacting Food Standards Agency Publications on 0845 606 0667.
New resources for Food Safety Week 2009
We have developed some new materials for Food Safety Week 2009. You can view them at the links at the foot of this page.
- If you’re over 60, a closer look in the kitchen could save your life – listeria leaflet
- If you’re over 60 these could save your life in the kitchen – A3 listeria poster
- Listeria leaflet dispenser
- Fridge thermometer
These materials are also available in Welsh.
You might also be interested in the Agency’s booklet ‘The good life’, which gives healthy eating advice for people over 50.
You can order all these items free of charge from Food Standards Agency Publications. Call: 0845 606 0667 or email: foodstandards@ecgroup.co.uk
If you work with professional caterers that cater for the over 60s, then you will find some useful information in the Care Homes supplement of 'Safer Food, Better Business' or our Listeria factsheet – 'Listeria: keeping food safe'. Find out more at the links below.
FSA publishes listeria factsheet
Practical advice for safer food in care homes
You might also be interested to view these listeria ads produced for the Life Channel and available on our YouTube channel.
Other Food Safety Week resources
- It came from the chopping board – an A5 leaflet
- Leaflet dispenser
- Four A3 posters:
- It came from the chopping board
- Curse of the uncooked
- Horror of the unwashed hands
- Terror stalks the fridge
- Grubeye balloons
- Grubeye stickers
- Grubeye finger puppet
You can order these items from Food Standards Agency Publications at foodstandards@ecgroup.co.uk or 0845 606 0667. The leaflet and posters are also available to download at the links below.
School resources (download only)
Schools can play an important role in helping to get this year's Food Safety Week messages across. The booklet 'Food Safety Week for Schools: A Key Stage 2 resource for teachers' (see link at the foot of the page) provides you with some ideas about how it can be incorporated into the school timetable.
The following downloadable activity sheets and a teaching pack are also available to help educate children on good food hygiene and help teachers incorporate food safety messages into the school curriculum:
- GermWatch word splat – search for hidden food hygiene words
- Germ Maze – find the germ on the grubby hand
- Colouring sheet – meet Grubeye and colour him in lots of yucky colours
- Primary school teaching and learning pack (also available to order from FSA Publications)
Teachers might also be interested in the food hygiene site produced by Asda. See the link below.
Asda - the Binks
Who is Grubeye?
Grubeye is the star of the 'GermWatch' campaign. He revels in poor food hygiene and delights in the misfortune of those at risk of food poisoning. Nothing makes Grubeye happier than when people spread germs – maybe you forgot to wash your hands before preparing food, or perhaps you used the same chopping board for raw meat and food that was ready to eat.
'Killer Facts' are another important element in the GermWatch campaign. They warn people about the dangers of poor food hygiene and provide helpful advice so people can fight back against the germs.
The grotesque GermWatch star was brought to life for Food Safety Week in ads screened on GMTV in 2008 – you can see Grubeye in action and view the ads on eatwell.gov.uk/germwatch.
Related links
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Food Safety Week partners 2009
A wide range of organisations have been working together for Food Safety Week by organising local activities and promoting food safety.
Wythnos Diogelwch Bwyd 2009
Mae’r Wythnos Diogelwch Bwyd yn ddigwyddiad sy’n cael ei gynnal bob blwyddyn i bwysleisio pa mor bwysig yw hylendid da yn y cartref. Bydd Wythnos Diogelwch Bwyd yn cael ei chynnal rhwng 15-21 Mehefin 2009.
Food Safety Week partners 2008
A wide range of organisations have been working together for Food Safety Week by organising local activities and promoting food safety.
See also
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