MAMMA Works
(Continued from Page B 18)
mately 40 percent of girls ages 6
to 11 said that milk at school tastes
bad. 35 percent of boys ages 9 to
12 said they would drink more
milk if milk served at school was
colder.
Over the past several years,
MAMMA has partnered with
many Mid-Atlantic schools to suc
cessfully change attitudes and
increase milk consumption of
school-age children. The School
Milk Quality Assurance Program
(SMQAP) is MAMMA’S newest
effort aimed at these children,
designed to correct the underlying
problem of warm, off-flavor milk.
During the 1997-98 school
year, twenty-eight schools will
receive grants from MAMMA to
implement one of three cooler
equipment upgrades. These three
options include an ice caddy, an
insulated cooler curtain, and an
upgrade to a forced-air serving
line cooler. By improving existing
cooler equipment, MAMMA will
improve the quality of milk cur
rently sold in the cafeteria. This
would translate into less milk was
tage and more students preferring
milk both at school and at home.
After all equipment is placed in
the schools. MAMMA will con
tinue to monitor milk sales, break
fast counts, students preferences,
and milk wastage to determine if
the School Milk Quality Assur
ance program has effectictively
improved milk quality. Based on
results from the first twenty-eight
schools, MAMMA hopes to
expand this program into more
schools in future years.
The first options from which
the schools can select is the ice
caddy. This durable container is
an insulated, transportable storage
area, which holds ice to keep milk
cold while serving breakfast and
lunch. This option is ideal for
those schools that do not have
serving-line schools. In a recent
survey conducted by MAMMA,
nearly 40 of the 100 participating
schools did not have a basic
serving-line cooler.
The insulated cooler curtain is a
heavy-duty vinyl curtain that fits
over the opening of the serving
line cooler. When the standard
drop-front, cold-wall cooler is
open, cold air escapes from’ the
cooler, causing the temperature to
rise. The curtain’s clear-vinyl
stripping keeps the cold air from
slipping away during serving per
iods, while still allowing children
Family Living
Focus
by
York Co.
Extension Agent
Joan Lamberson
Selling Food For
Fun And Profit:
Doing It Safely
Do you belong to a non-profit
group that prepares and sells food
to raise funds? Many organiza
tions operate some type of food
stand for fun and profit If safe
food handling practices are not
applied at these events, the risk of
food-borne illness increases.
However almost all food-borne
illness could be prevented by fol
lowing safe food handling
practices.
easy access to the milk.
The third option an upgrade
to a forced air cooler—is idea for
those schools with funds allocated
to :hase a new serving-line
.i yo group .
public site such as carnivals, fairs,
animals shows, craft shows, festi
vals. public sales, reunions, and so
forth, you may need a temporary
license. In Pennsylvania if the
stand operates more than two con
secutive days an eating and drink
ing license may be needed if serv
ing potentially hazardous foods
like hotdogs, hamburgers, bar
becue. other perishable fooids. In
Pennsylvania, contact the Pen
nsylvania Department of Agricul
ture at (717) 787-4315 for more
information on license and other
cooler. Cold air circulates around
the milk, keeping it cold and fresh.
The grant covers the additional
cost of the forced-air cooler over a
normal serving-line cooler.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 2, 1997-619
regulations.
Food-borne illness affects an
estimated 24 million to 81 million
Americans each year. Food-home
illness occurs when food is conta
minated with bacteria and the bac
teria grows to large numbers. This
happens when food is kept at
unsafe temperatures between
40 degrees F. and 140 degrees F.
Here is a checklist to help you
determine if you have everything
you need to operate a safe and
clean temporary food service
operation.
For sanitizing surfaces, you
need:
•A bucket of soapy water
•A bucket of clean water
•A spray bottle with a mixture
of chlorine bleach and water
■Paper towels
For handwashing, you need:
•Hand soap (preferably liquid)
•Paper towels
■A handwashing sink
OR
•A large container with a spigot
filled with warm water and a con
tainer to catch wastewater
Cups, dishes and napkins are:
•Stored in containers
•Covered and at least 6 inches
off the ground
Food and supplies are:
•Prepared on site or in a
licensed kitchen
(If you are required to
e a temporary food
tv ice license, your
local health department
must be notified of
where and when food
will be prepared if made
f site.)
•Covered with plastic
wrap or foil, or stored in
lidded containers
•Stored off the
ground
Trash containers are:
•Plastic or metal con
tainers with bag liners
and covers
•Emptied frequently
If you need a tempor
ary food service license:
•Post it
•Serve only the foods
listed on the license
For temperature con
trol, you need:
•A food thermometer
with a temperature
range of 0 to 220
degrees F
Equipment to keep
food cold:
•An ice chest with a
drain and lots of com
mercially prepared ice
OR
•A refrigerator
Equipment to keep
food hot:
•Camping stove
•Propane gas grill
•Sternco with
windbreak
•Charcoal grill
Food handlers should
be:
•Healthy and free of
cuts/sores on hands
•Wearing clean'plas
tic gloves to handle food
that will not be cooked
•Wearing clean
clothing
•Wearing hair pulled
back
•Not smoking while
handling food
•Washing hands fre
quently for at least 20
seconds after
-Using the bathroom
-After handling raw
foods such as meat, fish
and poultry
•After picking up
items off the ground
-After smoking.