If children ride a bus to school, they should plan to get to their bus stop early and stand away from the curb while waiting for the bus to arrive. Other safety steps for students include:

• Board the bus only after it has come to a complete stop and the driver or attendant has instructed you to get on.
• Only board your bus and never an alternate one.
• Always stay in clear view of the bus driver and never walk behind the bus.
• Cross the street at the corner, obeying traffic signals and staying in the crosswalk.
• Never dart out into the street, or cross between parked cars.

Motorists should know what the yellow and red bus signals mean:

• Yellow flashing lights — the bus is getting ready to stop, and motorists should slow down and be prepared to stop.
• Red flashing lights and an extended stop sign — the bus is stopped and children are getting on or off. Drivers in both directions must stop their vehicles and wait until the lights go off, the stop sign is back in place and the bus is moving before they can start driving again.

Driving

If children ride in a car to get to school, they should always wear a seat belt. Younger children should use car seats or booster seats until the lap-shoulder belt fits properly (typically for children ages 8-12 and over 4’9”), and ride in the back seat until they are at least 13 years old.

If a teenager is going to drive to school, parents should mandate that they use seat belts. Drivers should not use their cell phone to text or make calls, and should avoid eating or drinking while driving.

All drivers should be aware that children are out walking or biking to school and slow down, especially in residential areas and school zones.

Biking and Walking

Students who ride their bike to school should always wear a helmet, obey all traffic signs and ride on the right in the same direction as traffic.

Those who walk to school should only cross the street at an intersection, and use a route along which the school has placed crossing guards. Parents should walk young children and children taking new routes or attending new schools at least for the first week to ensure they know how to get there safely. Thereafter, arrange for the kids to walk to school with a friend or classmate.

Take a Red Cross First Aid and CPR/AED course so you’ll have the knowledge and skills to act if an injury or emergency happens. You can also download the free Red Cross First Aid app so you’ll always have first aid information at your fingertips.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies more than 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or their blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

The last weeks of summer are a great time to enjoy outdoor activities such as camping.

The US Dept of Agriculture wants you aware of safe food practices that insure a fun camping trip, free of food borne illnesses.

When it Comes to Safe Drinking Water While Camping …

It is not a good idea to depend on fresh water from a lake or stream for drinking, no matter how clean it appears. Bring bottled or tap water for drinking. Always start out with a full water bottle, and replenish your supply from tested public systems when possible.

 The surest way to make water safe is to boil it. Boiling will kill microorganisms. First, bring water to a rolling boil, and then continue boiling for 1 minute.

What Foods to Bring Camping?

Advances in food technology have produced relatively lightweight staples that don’t need refrigeration or careful packaging. For example:

• peanut butter in plastic jars;
• concentrated juice boxes;
• canned tuna, ham, chicken, and beef;
• dried noodles and soups;
• beef jerky and other dried meats;
• dehydrated foods;
• dried fruits and nuts; and
• powdered milk and fruit drinks.

Powdered mixes for biscuits or pancakes are easy to carry and prepare, as is dried pasta. There are plenty of powdered sauce mixes that can be used over pasta, but check the required ingredient list. Carry items like dried pasta, rice, and baking mixes in plastic bags and take only the amount you’ll need.

General Rules for Outdoor Food Safety
Plan ahead: decide what you are going to eat and how you are going to cook it; then plan what equipment you will need.

• Pack safely: use a cooler if car-camping or boating, or pack foods in the frozen state with a cold source if hiking or backpacking.
• Keep raw foods separate from other foods.
• Never bring meat or poultry products without a cold source to keep them safe.
• Bring disposable wipes or biodegradable soap for hand and dish washing.
• Plan on carrying bottled water for drinking. Otherwise, boil water or use water purification tablets.
• Do not leave trash in the wild or throw it off your boat.
• If using a cooler, leftover food is safe only if the cooler still has ice in it. Otherwise, discard leftover food.
• Whether in the wild or on the high seas, protect yourself and your family by washing your hands before and after handling food.

The Centers for Disease Control want us to practice food safety at fairs and festivals throughout the summer.

One of the CDC publications  asks us to remember that the usual safety controls that a kitchen provides, like thermostat-controlled cooking, refrigeration, and washing facilities, may not be available when cooking and dining at these events. Here are some things they suggest you do or find out to prevent foodborne illness:

Before you buy food from a vendor check out the following:

• Does the vendor have a clean/tidy workstation?
• Does the vendor have a sink for employees to wash their hands?
• Do the employees wear gloves or use tongs when handling food?
• Does the vendor have refrigeration on site for raw ingredients or pre-cooked foods?
• Has the vendor been inspected? Requirements vary by state, but in general, temporary and mobile vendors, like those at fairs and carnivals, should have a license to sell food and beverages in a particular state or county. You can check with the local health department to see if the vendors are licensed and if a food inspection has been completed.

Are there healthy food alternatives to consider at fairs and festivals?

When purchasing food from a vendor, look for foods that are healthy for you. If they are not available, consider bringing your own food to save money and calories. Don’t forget to keep safe food storage practices in mind.

If bringing food from home, what are the proper food handling and storage practices?

If you bring food to a fair or festival from home, be sure to keep food handling and storage times in mind. Don’t let food sit out for more than two hours. On a hot day (90°F or higher), reduce this time to one hour. Be sure to put perishable items in a cooler or insulated bag

Remember to Wash Hands Often:

• Find out where hand washing stations are located.
• Always wash your hands right after petting animals, touching the animal enclosure, and exiting animal areas even if you did not touch an animal.
• Always wash hands after using the restroom, after playing a game or going on a ride, before eating and drinking, before preparing food or drinks, after changing diapers, and after removing soiled clothes or shoes.
• Bring hand sanitizers or disposable wipes in case there aren’t any places to wash your hands.

Report Illness:

Anytime you suspect you may have contracted a foodborne illness, report it to your local health department, even if it is after you have recovered. The local public health department is an important part of the food safety system. Often, calls from concerned citizens are how outbreaks are first detected. If a public health official contacts you to find out more about an illness you had, your cooperation is important. In public health investigations, it can be as important to talk to healthy people as it is to ill people. Your cooperation may be needed even if you are not ill.

June 08, 2015

By Crystal McDade-Ngutter, Ph.D., Food Safety Education Staff, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA

It’s summer time! Break out the swim suit, sunglasses, sandals and grill. Not only is summer peak season for backyard barbeques, it is also prime time for foodborne illnesses. Bacteria grow fast at warmer temperatures and can make you sick—leaving you with not so good memories of your family barbeque this summer.

Listeria monocytogenes is a dangerous bacterium that you should be on the lookout for all year round—especially in the summer months. Listeria can cause a foodborne illness called listeriosis. It can grow at refrigeration temperatures and is one of the deadliest foodborne illnesses.

Pregnant women are more likely to be affected by Listeria than healthy people. In fact, they are about 10 times more likely than the general population to get listeriosis. Listeria can be passed to your unborn baby, even when you show no sign of sickness. It can lead to premature delivery, miscarriage, stillbirth, and death in newborns.

During pregnancy, it is important to be aware of the foods you are eating. Listeria is commonly found in ready-to-eat foods. These foods include:

• Soft-ripened cheeses (traditional Mexican-style cheeses, Camembert, Brie, Feta, and Ricotta);
• Raw vegetables;
• Store-brought salads (ham, chicken, tuna, and seafood);
• Deli meats; and,
• Hot dogs (a barbeque favorite).

If these foods can’t be reheated or cooked, pregnant women should avoid eating them.

Hot dogs are a certainty at any barbeque. For this reason, it is important to keep Listeria from lurking in your hotdogs especially for pregnant guests, their unborn babies, and newborns. Here are a few tips to keep your grilled hot dogs in tip-top shape:

• Never eat hotdogs straight out the package as a pre-BBQ snack—hot dogs must always be heated to 165°F or higher before eaten.
• Wash hands after handling hot dogs from the package.
• Avoid getting hot dog juice from the package on other foods, utensils, or preparation surfaces.
• After grilling hot dogs, keep the temperature at 140°F or higher until served.
• Make sure leftover hot dogs are refrigerated or put on ice two hours after they are removed from the grill or one hour if the temperature is over 90°F. When you reheat them, heat them to 165^?F or higher.
• Leftover hot dogs that have been refrigerated should be eaten within three to four days.

Properly cooking hot dogs WILL help keep Listeria from making a surprise appearance at your backyard BBQ.

Please visit www.foodsafety.gov for more information about food safety and direct food safety questions to the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or www.AskKaren.gov.