Back-to-School Food Safety List
The USDA encourages families to be prepared by adding a few essential items to your back-to-school shopping list.
Press Release
WASHINGTON – A new school year is approaching and with it, changes to your usual routine.
“Parents are juggling many decisions as students may be returning to school for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and others may still be distance learning,” said Dr. Mindy Brashears, Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “You don’t want to add foodborne illness – commonly called food poisoning – to your list of concerns, so take time to plan and prepare your children’s lunch meals safely.”
USDA encourages families to be prepared by adding a few essential items to your back-to-school shopping list. They can be used to avoid mistakes in the kitchen that can lead to illness.
“Having the whole family follow some simple food safety behaviors can help them avoid all kinds of illnesses this time of year, including foodborne illness,” said Paul Kiecker, Administrator for USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. “This list of items can help you and your family make sure lunches and snacks are safely prepared, following the USDA’s four steps to food safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.”
Hand wipes, hand sanitizers, soap and towels
Now more than ever, it’s important to keep these items visible as a reminder to clean hands and surfaces. People tend to rush through the steps of washing when they are on-the-go. Recent USDA research conducted in test kitchens revealed participants were not washing their hands properly up to 99 percent of the time before and during meal preparation. Wash hands with clean, running water (warm or cold) and soap for at least 20 seconds and dry them with a clean cloth or towel. Hand wipes and 60 percent alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used to clean hands and surfaces if water and soap are not available. Remember to wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and countertops with soap and hot water after preparing each food item and before proceeding to the next item. A bleach-based solution can be used to sanitize surfaces and utensils.
Different colored cutting boards
If you’re preparing perishable foods that require cutting (for example, bacon and chicken for salad) make sure you separate raw meat and poultry from ready-to-eat foods (such as fruits, vegetables, cheeses, etc.) to avoid cross-contamination. Harmful bacteria can spread throughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, utensils, countertops and other ready-to-eat foods you’re preparing. Different colored cutting boards are a good reminder of this step. Use a green cutting board for fresh produce and another color for meat and poultry.
Food thermometers
A food thermometer is the only way to know that foods are safely cooked to a temperature high enough to kill any harmful bacteria that might be present. Have a food thermometer easily accessible. It will be easier to remember the cook step if the thermometer is always reachable.
Insulated soft-sided lunch boxes, gel packs, and appliance thermometers
If children have lunch outside of the home, make sure they have an insulated, soft-sided lunch box or bag to keep perishable items in their lunch cold. A frozen gel pack, combined with a frozen juice box or bottle of water, should keep lunches chilled and safe until lunchtime. Place them on top and bottom of perishable food items to keep them cold and avoid the “Danger Zone” (temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit where bacteria can multiply quickly and cause illness).
Insulated containers
When children take a hot lunch outside of the home, insulated containers are important to keep food that should be served hot safe. Use an insulated container to keep soup, chili, and stew hot at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Fill the container with boiling water, let it stand for a few minutes, empty, and then put in the piping hot food. Keep the insulated container closed until lunchtime to keep the contents hot.
Stop by the food preparation aisle at your grocery store to find many of these items on your back-to-school food safety list. By using them, you can keep your children (and the rest of your family) safe from foodborne illness.
Source: USDA - Food Safety Should be on Your Back to School List
AG Paxton Issues Legal Guidance on School Reopening
Local health authorities may not issue sweeping orders closing schools for the sole purpose of preventing future COVID-19 infections. Rather, their role is limited by statute to addressing specific, actual outbreaks of disease.
Press Release
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today issued guidance on the opening of local schools for the upcoming school year, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, responding to a request from Stephenville Mayor Doug Svien. While playing an important role in protecting the health of school children and employees, local health authorities may not issue sweeping orders closing schools for the sole purpose of preventing future COVID-19 infections. Rather, their role is limited by statute to addressing specific, actual outbreaks of disease. School officials, both public and private, are the appropriate ones to decide whether, when, and how to open school.
“Education of our children is an essential Texas value and there is no current statewide order prohibiting any school from opening,” said Attorney General Paxton. “While local health authorities may possess some authority to close schools in limited circumstances, they may not issue blanket orders closing all schools on a purely preventative basis. That decision rightfully remains with school system leaders.”
Read a copy of the letter here.
Public Health Order Regarding In-Person School Instruction
Schools included in the order are all public independent school districts that have school district boundaries in Nueces County.
Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – Local Health Authority Dr. Srikanth Ramachandruni has issued a Public Health Order imposing specified control measures and restrictions for public schools offering in-person instruction. Schools included in the order are all public independent school districts that have school district boundaries in Nueces County.
The following restrictions are effective today, July 16, 2020 as of the execution of the Public Health Order:
School systems shall not re-open schools for on-campus, face-to-face instruction until after September 7, 2020.
Virtual instruction shall be permitted as per a school system’s own plan.
At least two weeks prior to re-opening for on-campus instruction and on-campus activities, the school or district shall develop a plan to be submitted to the Corpus Christi/Nueces County Health Authority for re-opening on-campus activities and instruction. The plan must be made available to parents and the public.
Extra-curricular sports and activities are excluded from the Order.
The Order may be renewed or extended by further action if necessary.
The Public Health Order can be read in its entirety at https://www.cctexas.com/coronavirus