To raise awareness about foodborne illness and the four simple steps to prevent it, the CDC has shared the following advice in their 2019 Food Safety Education Month Letter to Partners:
Dear Colleague:
For Food Safety Education Month in September, join CDC in encouraging consumers to Be a Food Safety Superhero. Take steps to prevent foodborne illness, and show others how to keep food safe.
Every year in the United States, an estimated 48 million people get sick and 3,000 die from eating contaminated food. Anyone can get a foodborne illness, but some groups of people are more likely to get sick and to have a more serious illness. These groups are children younger than 5, adults aged 65 and older, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women.
CDC is observing Food Safety Education Month by sharing information on the risk of foodborne illness and four simple steps to prevent it. We hope you will join us in raising awareness of these common, yet preventable, illnesses. CDC plans to share its Food Safety Education Month graphics and other communication materials starting Sept. 1.
Here are four ways you can help CDC raise awareness about handling food safely during Food Safety Education Month.
- After Sept. 1, share our Graphics and sample Social Media posts on your social media accounts, websites, and other communication materials. Use #FoodSafetyHero and #FSEM to join the conversation.
- Share information about Foods Linked to Food Poisoning.
- After Sept. 1, share Videos of our superheroes following the four steps of food safety.
- Share Tips on How You Can Prevent Food Poisoning by following four simple steps: Clean. Separate. Cook. Chill. Also in Spanish
Thank you for your hard work and commitment to promoting food safety. We encourage you to share our resources with your network to help keep people safe and healthy throughout the year.