- Wednesday 07 November 2018
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The theme for 2018 is Food Poisoning – take it seriously! This ties in nicely with the Design and Technologies curriculum so it is a great way to connect a real world issue to classroom learning. There have also been recent outbreaks of listeria in the news, and salmonella and E.coli are commonly heard about, so students should have some real life knowledge of this topic.
What is Food Poisoning?
Food poisoning is caused by bacteria which likes to grow in temperatures between 5oC and 60oC. The bacteria can come into contact with the food at any point along the supply chain from production to preparation and then to the end user (you). Some viruses also cause foodborne illness including Hepatitis A, Norovirus, Norwalk Virus and Rotavirus. Symptoms include nausea, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Pregnant women, the elderly and those with low immune systems are particularly vulnerable.
Even though the symptoms generally last for a few days the bacteria may cause some long term health issues with the gut or kidneys, which is why educating young people, not just adults, about how to prevent food poisoning is so important.
Classroom activities
- Watch a video advertisement and play ‘spot the food preparation issues’ with the class.
- Design and create their own public service video to educate their school about how to prevent food poisoning.
- Explore how milk goes from the farm to the supermarket, and look at the process during production, called pasteurisation, when the milk is heat treated to destroy bacteria. This video offers a brief history of pasteurisation.
- Examine data of reported food poisoning in order to establish the most common cause. Use documents from the Department of Health or OzFoodNet research.
- Explore the food safety resources from the NSW Government.
- Use online games and activities to ‘Fight bac!’ against food poisoning.
Design and Technologies Knowledge and Understanding
Foundation to Year 2
Explore how plants and animals are grown for food, clothing and shelter and how food is selected and prepared for healthy eating (ACTDEK003)
Years 3 and 4
Investigate food and fibre production and food technologies used in modern and traditional societies (ACTDEK012)
Years 5 and 6
Investigate how and why food and fibre are produced in managed environments and prepared to enable people to grow and be healthy (ACTDEK021)