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

Time to review and summarize. 

REVIEW

1. 

What are some things we’ve learned in 

this lab? Here are some probable student 

responses, but probe for more: 

• 

Cooking a hamburger to 160° F (71° C) 

is the only way to tell that a hamburger is 

safe to eat. 

• 

Temperature should be taken in the center 

of the hamburger from the side. 

• 

Surfaces used to prepare raw meat must 

be thoroughly cleaned before preparing 

other foods on them. 

2. 

What are some ways our food can become contaminated 

after we purchase it? (List students’ responses.) 

3. 

Does what we learned about hamburger apply to other 

foods as well? What about poultry? Fish? Seafood? 

Eggs? (The general learnings about cooking apply to 

raw poultry, fish, seafood, and eggs.) For proper cooking 

temperatures and other information about poultry, fish, 

seafood, and eggs, see the 4 Cs section of the Food 

Safety A to Z Reference Guide (pages 52-57) and the 

Safe Food Chart (pages 62-69). 

• 

Trace the path of a hamburger from the farm to the table. 

What does everyone along the continuum do to help assure 

that the hamburger is free from E. coli O157:H7 when it 

reaches you? Complete the continuum by indicating where 

your responsibility begins and what you must do to ensure 

that the burger will be safe when you eat it. Include each of 

the 4 Cs of Food Safety in your report.

• 

Write a brochure about the importance of food safety  

precautions and distribute it to the school administrators 

and groups cooking at sports events, school events,  

fundraisers, etc. 

EXTENSIONS

• 

Visit a local fast food restaurant and interview the  

manager to find out how he/she makes sure the  

hamburgers are cooked to a safe internal temperature. 

• 

Prepare a food safety campaign on using a food  

thermometer when cooking meat, and provide it to your 

local PTSA or other parent organization. 

• 

Relate your pathogen to this lab and record the  

information in your food safety portfolio. 

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