Bringing Thermometer Education to High Schools Zena Edwards, RD Graduate Research Assistant Food Science and Human Nutrition Dept. Washington State University

Targeting Adolescents 1 in 5 youth usually prepare their own dinner – Neumark-Sztainer et al. JNEB 2000

1/3 to ½ of adolescents prepare dinner for themselves at least once per week – Boutell et al. JNEB 2001

Population Trends Children, teens, and young adults lack cooking skills Children and teens have – Increased spending power – More control over the family’s consumer spending ADA Reports-Trends Supplement JADA 2002

Family and Consumer Science Classrooms: Opportunity for Food Safety Education “Teachers, administrators, and other schoolbased staff all concurred that home economics courses were the ideal fit.” “The hands-on aspects of the cooking classroom make it ideal for developing food safety habits as well as increasing knowledge about the topic.” USDA/FDA Education Initiative: Evaluating the Placement of Food Safety Education in American Schools

Learning Goal Understand the importance of and principles for proper use of appropriate food thermometer when cooking burgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, and sausage patties

Learning Objectives Food thermometer for safety Food thermometer for quality Appropriate food thermometer Proper way to use a food thermometer Calibration of food thermometer Most effective method for cooking hamburger patties for destruction of E. coli O157:H7

Teaching Kit Digital Instant-Read Thermometer 15-minute instructional video 5 full-color recipe cards Informational brochure 4 full-color posters

 4 lesson plans  2 PowerPoint presentations  Student fill-in notes  Classroom and homework activities  Student tests  Student evaluation

Using a Food Thermometer Part One Foodborne Illness Safe temperatures Why color is not a good indicator How to use a food thermometer How to clean a food thermometer Hamburger cooking methods Video, PowerPoint, Fill-in Notes, Thermometer Survey

You Can’t Judge a Burger by It’s Color Part Two

Food science of meat color Browning at unsafe temperatures Pink burgers at safe temperature Associated pathogens Power Point, Fill-in Notes, Create Classroom Food Safety Poster

The Flip Side of Flipping Burgers Part Three Activity: Accuracy and calibration Experiment: Single vs Multi Flip Experiment: Color of different types of cooked ground beef

Now You’re Cooking Part Four Recipes developed for small cuts of meat Quality, not just safety Peer checklist Self-evaluation

Evaluation of Teaching Kit Over 250 kits to FCS teachers in WA/ID 26 teachers agreed to evaluate kits Received 3 additional thermometers 11 teachers returned complete pre/posttests 24 classes 295 students

Change in Knowledge 11-item True/False Pretest – Class mean: 5.8 – Range of class means: 4.56 to 9.29

Posttest – Class means: 8.0 – Range of class means: 6.3 to 10.2

No differences between gender, grade, food handler’s permit

Change in Knowledge Color as an indicator of doneness Importance of using a thermometer to know if meat has reached temperature Proper insertion depth of dial vs digital Oven safe therm not for small cuts Meat cooked to a safe temperature is not tough and dry It is necessary to use a food thermometer when cooking small cuts of meat

Results More students “very sure” and “sure” that they can cook meat that tastes and looks good. More students “very sure” and “sure” that they can cook meat that won’t make themselves, family, or friends ill. More students “very sure” and “sure” that they can use a food thermometer Less students “very worried” and “worried” about getting sick from eating undercooked meat Movement from precontemplation to contemplation, preparation, and action

Questions?