November 26, 1998
(Health and Community Services)

Public Education Campaign - Fight BAC

Joan Marie Aylawrd, Mister of Health and Community Services, extended her support today for the new national public education campaign called Fight BAC. The campaign, which was designed by the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education, is designed to raise awareness around food safety and how to avoid harmful bacteria.

"The campaign reflects many of the prevention and early intervention initiatives of our department. By increasing people's understanding of the risks, we are enabling them to better protect themselves and their families from foodborne illnesses," said Minister Aylward. "This campaign should increase precautions within the home and throughout the community resulting in a healthier and happier population."

The campaign urges people to reduce risk of foodborne illness by following four keys steps:

CLEAN Always clean your hands, utensils and cooking surfaces thoroughly with hot water and soap before, during and after preparing food. Sanitize countertops, cutting boards and utensils with a mild solution of bleach and water. All produce should be washed under cool running water prior to eating or cooking.

SEPARATE Keep raw foods and their juices separated from other foods during storage and preparation. Keep separate cutting boards for raw meats and vegetables.

COOK Prepare foods quickly, cook them thoroughly and serve them immediately. Don't let potentially unsafe foods linger at room temperature as bacteria can grow quickly. The danger zone is between four degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit) and 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit).

CHILL Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food and leftovers within two hours. Make sure the refrigerator is set at four degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit) or colder, and that the freezer is set at -18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit).

The minister said: "It is important that people understand that there is a relationship between food safety and foodborne illness. All Canadians can benefit from following the safe food handling practices promoted in this campaign. By educating the people of our province and our country we hope to be able to reduce the number of food poisoning cases each year."

For more information on this Canada wide food safety effort, visit the Partnership website at: www.canfightbac.org

Media contact: Glenn Bruce, Director of Communications, (709) 729-1377.

1998 11 26 5:05 p.m.