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

16

MIDDLE LEVEL

RESOURCES

• 

Food Safety A to Z Reference Guide (See the following 

terms — Bacteria, Centers for Disease Control and  

Prevention, Deoxyribonucleic Acid, Escherichia coli 

O157:H7, Farm-to-Table Continuum, Foodborne Illness, 

Four Steps to Food Safety, Pathogen, pH.) Also see the  

4 Cs section beginning on page 52. 

• 

Dr. X and the Quest for Food Safety video Module 1 — 

Understanding Bacteria 

• 

Websites: 

Cells Alive: www.cellsalive.com 

Gateway to Government Food Safety Information: 

www.foodsafety.gov 

Introduction to Bacteria: www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/ 

bacteria/bacteria.html 

UP NEXT   

Bacteria are everywhere – even in this classroom! 

In the next lab, you’ll join Dr. X’s crusade by finding 

where these organisms live and thrive. 

EXTENSIONS

• 

Check the Internet to learn more about when and why food 

safety became a national initiative. 

• 

Collect articles on food safety from your local paper and TV 

news reports, and write a report on local food safety issues.  

Post articles and reports on the class bulletin board or class  

web page. 

• 

Check out the Food Safety A to Z Reference Guide, particularly 

the 4 Cs section beginning on page 52. 

• 

Survey people in your class/grade/school/faculty to find out how 

many of them may have experienced foodborne illness. 

MODULE 1:

 UNDERSTANDING BACTERIA

THE BIG PICTURE

SUMMARY

It’s everyone’s responsibility to control the  

spread of bacteria — the farmer, the food 

processor, the person who transports our food, 

people who work in supermarkets and  

restaurants, and consumers when they take the 

food home.