Science and Our Food Supply: Investigating Food Safety from Farm to Table

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MIDDLE LEVEL

OUTBREAK ALERT  

(Shigella) 

MODULE 5:

 OUTBREAK AND FUTURE TECHNOLOGY 

FOOD SAFETY CONNECTION

 

Although our food supply is one of the safest in the world, foodborne illness outbreaks 

do occur. It’s important to be aware of the symptoms of foodborne illness and see a 

doctor if symptoms are severe. If the local clinical lab identifies the presence of  

foodborne bacteria in a patient’s test, the results are sent to the state health department 

for further testing. When outbreaks do occur, there’s a national network of public health 

laboratories, such as PulseNet, that helps to detect an outbreak in multiple states. 

 

TIME  

One 45-minute class period