Have you ever gotten sick from something you ate? It's not a pleasant experience, and for at-risk individuals the health consequences can be very serious. Consumers say they practice good food handling, but they actually make many mistakes. Fortunately, people can avoid getting sick or causing illness in others by following simple food handling practices.
Family & Community Health Sciences (FCHS) professionals provide food safety education for adults and youth in schools, community and work places. Topics include preventing foodborne illness, managing food allergies, ServSafe training, handwashing, and home food preservation. Contact the FCHS professional in your Rutgers Cooperative Extension county office for more information or to request a program.
Information for New Jersey Commercial Growers on how to properly grow, harvest and handle your produce; learn about produce safety regulations required under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA); develop a food safety plan for third party audits; and follow good agricultural practices.
Food allergies are a common, serious-and sometimes fatal--problem. Nearly 11 million Americans have food allergies or an estimated 6 to 8% of young children and 4% of the general population. Close to 327,000 New Jerseyans have food allergies, of which 100,000 are children. The only proven way to prevent allergic reactions caused by trigger foods is to avoid those foods.