Food Safety
You have just been hired as the new director of Tinkerbell's KinderCare. You are familiar with food safety principles, but soon realizethat your staff is not. Choose one of the following scenarios and describe how you would address the problem with the staff member as well as what specific steps you would take to protect the problem in the future. You must Be sure to include reference to at least 1 outside source to support your ideas.
a. Sally, the teacher's assistant in the 3-year-old class, serves lunch after assisting children in the bathroom without washing her hands.
b. The toddlers in Kim's class did not finish all of the cheese and crackers she laid out for morning snack. At 5:00 pm, Kim picks up the remaining cheese and puts it in the refrigerator for the next day's snack.
c. After a long holiday break, 5-year-old Isabella brings in questionable-looking brownies to share with her class. Steve, an after-care employee, serves the brownies to the children.
1. United States Department of Agriculture Child and Adult Care Food Program. (2002). Menu magic for children. Retrieved from https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/menu_magic.pdf
From the USDA, this guide offers ideas for menu planning for young children.
2. United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. (2012). USDA food facts sheet for schools & child nutrition institutions: Sunflower seed butter. Retrieved from https://origin.www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/_Drupal/schfacts/FV/FVnew2012schfactsheets/100935_SunflowerSeedButter_5lb_April%202012.pdf
This resource from the USDA describes the use of sunflower seed butter as an alternate to peanut butter in school lunches.
3. United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service. (2000). Keeping kids safe: A guide for safe food handling and sanitation for child care providers. Retrieved from https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/resources/appendj.pdf
This resource from the USDA gives practical advice for proper food handling and safety in early childhood settings