Do you have friends, relatives and acquaintances who know that your job encompasses the field of preventative health, but the only time that you may chat with them about food safety is when the media brings up the subject at Christmas, Thanksgiving and BBQ season? Health professionals may hesitate to discuss improper food handling procedures at a friend’s or relative’s home in case someone takes offence. Everybody’s Foodsafe Kitchen fills the vacuum of education in the home kitchen and acts as a wonderful resource for any person in charge of kitchen activities, or for that matter, anyone involved in the food industry.
Using the principles taught in the internationally acclaimed FOODSAFE education training program, the author has delivered a very effective everyday application of food safety. The reader is not overwhelmed with technical detail, yet the book equips one with accurate, up-to-date information that is critical to providing and enjoying a food safe environment in the home.
The book is well organized and is formatted to be used as reference manual. It starts with an introduction to food microbiology. The second section takes up about half of the volume and divides foods into 18 categories including fish and shellfish, home-canned and commercially canned foods, chicken and poultry and frozen foods, to name a few. The third section deals with specialty circumstances such as outdoor picnics, boxed lunches, and people at high risk. The last section is devoted to kitchen management and details information on topics such as the purchasing and storage of food to personal hygiene and kitchen sanitation.
Most of the book is written in easy to read point form style. The food category section draws the reader’s attention using fun graphics to show temperature requirements and Do’s and Don’t’s.
The author uses ‘myth’ and ‘fact’ highlights to enlighten the reader concerning modern truths. Nielson has hit the mark and provided a much needed manual for a sector of the population that health educators don’t normally reach.
When the public asks if there is more information out there, the health professional can confidently refer them to Everybody’s Foodsafe Kitchen.
– Jill E. Campbell, CIPHI(C) – Environmental Health Review, Fall 1997