CLEAN & SANITIZE
FOOD SAFETY LESSON FOR SENIORS
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Squirt bottle (filled with water)
Glo germ kit
Black light
Things to wash hands with
OBJECTIVE
Senior Citizens will learn why keeping food preparation areas clean is important.
INTRODUCTION
A lot has changed over your lifetime- including the way food is produced and distributed. It used
to be that food was produced close to where people lived. Many people shopped daily, and
prepared and ate their food at home. Eating in restaurants was saved for special occasions.
Today, food in your local grocery store comes from all over the world. And nearly 50 percent of
the money we spend on food goes to buy food that others prepare, like “carry out” and restaurant
meals or meals at the Senior Centers.
Another thing that has changed is our awareness and knowledge of illnesses that can be caused
by harmful bacteria in food:
Through science, we have discovered new and dangerous bacteria that can be found in
food –bacteria we didn’t even know about years ago. Names you’ll hear today are:
Salmonella , Botulism, E. Coli, etc.
Science has also helped us identify illnesses that can be caused by bacteria in food-
illnesses we didn’t recognize before. Many times we refer to these as a bout of “stomach
flu” but usually it can be tied back to a food borne illness caused by bacteria. Today, for
instance, we realize that some illnesses, like some kinds of arthritis, can be traced to food
borne illness.
Finally, another thing we know today is that some people –including people over 65- can be
more susceptible to getting sick from bacteria in food.
CLEAN AND DISINFECT SURFACES
Question-
Who can tell us the difference between cleaning and disinfecting?
Disinfecting requires the use of an approved disinfectant such as chlorine bleach or
quaternary ammonia. Bleach, or products containing bleach are the most commonly used for
household purposes. Bleach by itself is inexpensive, effective, and readily available.
Soap is a good cleaner but does not necessarily disinfect. Many commercial anti-bacterial
soaps are available and would be a good addition to the kitchen.
You should disinfect areas where there are both high concentrations of dangerous germs and
a possibility that they will be spread to others.
Bleach Solution recipe—
HOW TO MIX BLEACH SOLUTION
Add one tablespoon of bleach to one quart of water (1/4 cup of bleach per one gallon of water).
Mix a fresh solution often.
Use it to clean and sanitize items and surfaces.
Dispense from a spray bottle that you keep out of reach of children.
KEEPING HANDS CLEAN IN THE KITCHEN
To avoid in spreading germs, you also need to keep your hands free of harmful bacteria.
Question-
Is rinsing your hands often with warm water enough to kill germs?
SQUIRT BOTTLE DEMO
Use spray bottle to spray water on hand to show how easily germs will travel. Also touch
additional surfaces (another person’s sleeve, table top, wall, etc.) and point out that those
surfaces stay moist for several minutes. If there are germs present, they can be easily spread
by touching the “contaminated” surface and then touching other areas.
The kitchen is the most dangerous area in a house for spreading germs/bacteria. For
example, cutting raw chicken and then touching other surfaces with hands before washing
thoroughly or by using the cutting board to prepare another food.
The bathroom is also a popular place for germs to be spread—especially though hands that
are not thoroughly washed after using the bathroom.
Sick rooms also may have contaminated sheets from body fluids including sneezing.
DEMO OF GLO GERM
Turn back to audience and “contaminate” hands with white powder or orange liquid Glo Germ®.
Then turn back to the audience and invite 5-6 volunteers from the audience to come forward for
this demonstration.
-Shake everyone’s hands thanking them for coming, getting to know them, etc.
-Turn off overhead lights and turn the black light on to the volunteers hands.
-Have your “new friends” rinse their hands off and shake them dry.
-Turn off overhead lights and black light on again.
Question-- What do you see? Make a big deal about how well they washed their hands.
-Have volunteers wash hands again with water and this time using a paper towel to dry hands.
-Black light again having them tell what they see – Are there any germs left on your
hands now?
-Wash hands 1 more time, this time use soap and water and dry with a paper towel.
(Have the rest of the audience sing wash your hands song-- This is “Take Me Out to the
Ballgame”, “Happy Birthday”, or “ABC’s Song.)
-Use black light one more time observing what happened to the germs. Ask- Are they finally
gone? What did it take to get rid of all the germs?
-Hands should be washed with warm soapy water a minimum of 18-20 seconds to get rid of
germs/bacteria.
CONCLUSION:
There is a difference between clean and disinfected. Some surfaces must be disinfected to be
free of all germs. Household bleach and water make the most convenient disinfectant.
Hands and body fluids are carriers of many kinds of germs. Therefore, we must take care to
clean often and thoroughly.
EVALUATION QUESTIONS- (Group review)
T or F Food borne illnesses like Salmonella poisoning can be prevented by wiping kitchen
counters off with warm water and a clean dish cloth.
T or F Adults over the age of 65 are more inclined to contract food borne illness than younger
adults.
T or F Chlorine bleach is an effective disinfectant.
T or F If I am careful to rinse my hands off with warm water for 20 seconds after handling raw
meat or poultry, I will always avoid getting sick.
Sources: USDA’s web site- www.foodsafety.gov and National Food Safety Education Month
(NFSEM) web archives for 2002.
FOOD SAFETY AT HOME
Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often
Bacteria can be present throughout the kitchen, including on
cutting boards, utensils, sponges and counter tops.
Wash your hands with hot soapy water before and after
handling food and after using the bathroom and handling
pets.
Wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops
with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and
before you go on to the next food. Periodically. Kitchen
sanitizers can be used for added protection.
Once cutting boards (including plastic, non-porous, acrylic
and wooden boards) become excessively worn or develop
hard-to-clean grooves, you should replace them.
Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. If
you use cloth towels, wash them often in the hot cycle of
your washing machine.
Also Important: Rinse raw produce in water. Don’t use
soap or other detergents. If necessary- and appropriate- use
a small vegetable brush to remove surface dirt.
BLEACH
DISINFECTANT SOLUTION
Add one tablespoon of bleach to one quart of water (1/4 cup of bleach per one
gallon of water).
Mix a fresh solution often.
Use it to clean and sanitize items and surfaces.
Dispense from a spray bottle that you keep out of reach of children.
AMMONIA-BASED
DISINFECTANT SOLUTION
1 large spray mister bottle
1 cup soapy ammonia (1/2 cup for a weaker solution)
1 cup rubbing alcohol (1/2 cup for a weaker solution)
2 teaspoons of dishwashing soap
optional: several drops of blue or green liquid food coloring
After pouring in the above ingredients into the mister bottle through a funnel, fill
the rest of the bottle with water and shake to mix. Spray on surfaces to be cleaned
and disinfected and wipe dry with a soft cloth or paper towel.