Food Safety
Food safety practices are vital to maintaining food quality and preventing illness. This is especially true for senior nutrition programs, as older adults are at increased risk of foodborne illness. Your program must ensure the highest standard of food safety for your participants by identifying and implementing recommended food safety practices.
Guides
- National Food Protection Manager Certification Courses— Nationwide directory of programs offering Certified Food Protection Manager training and Food Handler courses (ANSI National Accreditation Board)
- Food Safety Emergency Response Pocket Guide— Guide that addresses power outages, water outages, water contamination, sewage issues, floods, and fires (USDA, 2022)
- Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles & Application Guidelines— Effective strategies for ensuring food safety from harvest to consumption (FDA, 2022)
- Food Safety for Older Adults and People With Cancer, Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Organ Transplants, and Autoimmune Diseases— Recommendations for older adults and individuals with compromised immune systems (FDA, 2022)
- Food Service Basics for Non-Food Service Program Managers and Staff — Guidance on service, storage, procurement, production, and food safety (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center)
- Kitchen Food Safety Basics— Practices to help reduce the risk of foodborne illness (Partnership for Food Safety Education)
- Are You Storing Food Safely— Tips for proper food storage (FDA, 2023)
- Keeping Hands Clean— Tips and information on handwashing to protect yourself and others from illness (CDC, 2024)
Tools & Toolkits
- Food Safety During Power Outage— Refrigerated food safety chart (FoodSafety.gov, 2024)
- Food Safety on the Go— Food safety training program developed for staff, volunteers, and clients of home-delivered meal programs (College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at University of Maryland)
- Course Publication — Overview of the training program development (Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2014)
- FAQs
- Food Safety — Information from The Partnership for Food Safety Education
- FDA Food Code— Current and previous editions (FDA, 2023)
- Food Recalls and Alerts— Advisories from the Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA)
- Retail and Food Service Codes and Regulations by State— Links to Food Safety Departments and Policies for Each State (FDA, 2024)
- Employee Health and Personal Hygiene Handbook— Training resource from designed to help employees prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria (FDA, 2020)
- Food Protection Educational Materials— Employee training materials that underscore the importance of proper food safety practices (FDA, 2022)
- Reporting a Foodborne Illness— Guidelines for reporting suspected cases of foodborne illness (CDC, 2024)
Presentations
- Food Safety in Older Adults — Educational resources and strategies for disease prevention (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center)
- From The Kitchen to the Table — Food safety guidelines for home-delivered meal drivers
- Food Safety on the Go — Presentation slide deck covering food safety throughout the supply chain (Nutrition and Aging Resource Center, 2019)