On January 30, 2014, Safe Food, Safe Family hosted their very first interactive session at Marina Mall. The purpose behind hosting an event at a mall was to educate the public at large on the basics of food safety through a series of interactive games. The games were based around the four pillars of food safety, which are Cook, Clean, Chill, and Separate, and each game lasted about two hours.
We reached over 500 families, and gave out goody bags and instructional flyers in our five different languages – English, Arabic, Hindi, Malayalam and Tagalog as well as food safety tips to all the passer-bys. The activity list can be adopted easily, and adapted to most settings.
Cook
Activity:
Participants in this game were asked to pick the right temperature that chicken should be cooked to, by picking out the correct cut-out of a chicken. They were shown a chicken with a cooked temperature of 78 degrees celsius, and a chicken with a cooked temperature of 74 degrees celsius.
Answer:
74 degrees celsius is the correct temperature when cooking chicken.
Clean
Activity:
Participants were shown three bowls filled with water and an assortment of food being a piece of chicken, a head of lettuce, and apples. They were then asked which of these food items was not supposed to be washed before consumption.
Answer:
The chicken, because washing the chicken in the sink may actually contaminate the sink by spreading the raw juices onto ready to eat items. Additionally, the cooking meats at the right temperature actually kills all the bacteria.
Chill
Activity:
A large image of an empty fridge was displayed on our booth, and participants were asked to place the correct food items on the fridge. They were given stickers of the following food items: Eggs, Tomatoes, Chicken, Fish, Yoghurt, Milk, Apples, Oranges, Cheese and Opened Canned Food
Answer:
The correct placement of these items on the fridge is:
- Eggs and milk on the fridge shelf and not the door, because the temperature on the door fluctuates thus affecting the freshness of the eggs.
- Vegetables and fruits in the bottom most drawer where the humidity is at its lowest maintaining the freshness of the vegetables.
- Yoghurt, cheese and opened canned foods on the shelves of the refrigerator.
- Chicken and fish in the freezer as frozen food items needs to be frozen at a temperature of -18 degrees Celcius.
Separate
Activity:
Participants were given several images of food items, and asked to place them on the corresponding chopping boards. The food items they were shown were: Eggs, Tomatoes, Chicken, Fish, Meat, Apples, Oranges, Cheese
Answer:
Chopping Board 1: Fruits & Vegetables
Chopping Board 2: Meats, Poultry and Seafood
Chopping Board 3: Dairy
If you would like us to host an interactive game day for you, then please feel free to reach us through our contact page.