Georgia County Government - March 2009 - (Page 24)

EXTENSION continued from page 23 income, and decreasing liability for businesses and local government … if FACS Extension Food Safety Programs can achieve these outcomes, then the Extension professionals who staff and support those programs will have done their job for the people who live in your community, will have done their job well. ■ Food Safety: Common Sense Translates to Dollars and Cents C lean … Separate … Cook … Chill. For almost 10 years, I listened to literally hundreds of Georgia 4-H members as they toiled to master these food safety concepts. For fift h-graders, the concepts seemed easy enough to memorize and recite in the course of a project presentation. For high school 4-H members competing in projects at the highest levels, it was truly amazing to hear them not only recite the four steps, but to thoroughly explain the intricacies of each step: the proper cooking temperatures for every type of meat, poultry and fish known to mankind; the proper cold storage temperatures and durations for every food that could ever be prepared. They would ease through the names of ugly things like Salmonellosis, Clostridium botulinum, Campylobacteriosis, and pronounce them with as much dexterity as you and I employ in saying our own names. In the past 1½ years, and with the broader exposure I have gained to the disciplines of Extension Family and Consumer Sciences, I have come to realize that these 10- to 18-yearold former students of mine were light years ahead of me with regards to their understanding of the consequences of foodborne illnesses. As Dr. Judy Harrison documents in the accompanying Extension News article, the key to stemming the tide of this serious societal problem is unbiased, researchbased, educational programming. Each year in the United States, economic losses exceeding $10 billion in medical costs and lost productivity are the result of foodborne illness. The tragedy of this impact is that these losses are, in large part, preventable. With a field staff of knowledgeable and experienced County Extension Agents supported by an outstanding cohort of state staff specialists, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Family and Consumer Sciences is working to do just this – giving people the tools they need to prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness – every day. Food safety education is happening in counties across the state. Professional educators are delivering high-quality programming to people in places where it can have the greatest impact – at the local level. – Jeff Christie, Liaison, ACCG /UGA Cooperative Extension 24 GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT http://www.tylertech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - March 2009

Georgia County Government - March 2009 Contents President’s Message County Matters Focus on Southeast Georgia The Georgia Public Service Commission Jerry R. Griffin MPA Scholarship Recipients Named Extension News Research Corner Staff News County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - March 2009

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