In the United States, approximately 76 million cases of food-borne illness occur each year. More than 325,000 people are hospitalized for food-borne illness and 5,000 will die from food-borne illness.

Following the four steps of Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill are essential for home food safety. These four steps used to be known as the "Fight Bac!" rules. The new message from USDA and the Partnership for Food Safety Education is "Be Food Safe: Harmful Bacteria Can Make People Sick."

Programs

HHS Extension educators in your community might offer one or more of these programs — contact your county Extension office for details.

• Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program
  Targeted to limited-resource households with pregnant women and pre-teen children. Through hands-on learning, participants learn the skills and motivation needed to choose and prepare healthy and safe meals for their families. It is delivered in 2 Indiana counties.
• Family Nutrition Program
  Available to food stamp recipients in 90 Indiana counties. Through programs in homes and community settings, participants develop the knowledge and skills in nutrition, meal planning, food purchasing, and food preparation and safety. 
• Have a Healthy Baby
  Prenatal nutrition education program consisting of six lessons that emphasize nutrition and lifestyle choices — smoking, drinking, and drugs. The program is research-based and taught by trained, caring professionals.

Publications

• Food Preservation and Storage
• Food Safety

Web Sites

• Fresh Preserving (Ball & Kerr)
• Indiana’s Food for the Hungry
  Addresses the educational needs of those who work to provide emergency food assistance throughout the state of Indiana. The Web site has a food assistance directory, newsletter, and resources for emergency food programs and the public.
• National Center for Home Food Preservation
• Preserving Food at Home: A Self-Study On-Line Course
• The University of Georgia Home Food Preservation Factsheets
  Includes canning fruits, canning vegetables, jams, jellies, pickled products, sensational salsas, canning tomatoes/tomato products, jellies without sugar, and many more fact sheets
  
• USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning