Food is an important part of many holiday celebrations. WIC staff can help their participants reduce the risk of foodborne illness for themselves and their families during the holiday season by following some basic food safety tips.
The Fight BAC!© collaborative between the CDC, FDA and the USDA has many resources to help promote and support food safety including:
- A safe holiday meal tips and planning page that includes an instructional video, available in Spanish
- Activities and games for kids
- Downloadable brochures and flyers
- Holiday recipes
- Food safety presentations and webinars that provide CEU opportunities, as well as Holiday Food Safety Quiz
- A list of Spanish language resources
- …and much more!
The FDA’s Holiday Food Safety page provides:
- Information for pregnant woman with downloadable charts and brochures, along with lists and infographics on product dating, how to safely transport, store and cook foods; many of these resources are available in Spanish.
- Information for moms-to-be, also available in Spanish
- Holiday food safety videos.
The CDC also has information to help educate WIC participants on the importance of food safety, such as:
- Downloadable handouts highlighting the dangers to people at greater risk of foodborne illness including pregnant woman and newborns and people with weakened immune systems
- A Food Safety Tips for the Holidays page that includes a downloadable infographic on the dangers of soft cheeses which can be found near the bottom of the page under the Pregnancy and Food section
Some additional information to help your WIC families can be found on USDA’s SNAP-Ed Connection pages which offer:
- Healthy, Thrifty Holiday Menus
- A Seasonal Produce Guide
- Spanish language materials on Food Shopping, Preparation and Cooking
On WIC Works, staff can search for “food safety” to find educational resources, downloadable handouts and much more; many resources are available in Spanish.
Original Source: https://wicworks.fns.usda.gov/resources/2018-holiday-food-safety