Maple Leaf and teachers' group spread food safety awareness

Maple Leaf Foods has teamed up with the Science Teachers' Association of Ontario (STAO) to create a variety of food safety resources to use in elementary and secondary school classrooms.

As part of its objective of building food safety awareness, Maple Leaf Foods supported the development of a package of several food safety teaching resources. This includes grade-specific curriculum materials, background information for teachers, student worksheets and online tools. The curriculum also includes information on careers within the food industry.

Dr. Randy Huffman, chief food safety officer at Maple Leaf Foods, said "Discussions in the classroom will help the next generation understand where the risks are and the roles of government, food companies and the consumer in contributing to safer food."

Donna Stack-Durward, STAO president, said the association, which represents more than 2,000 teachers, felt that food safety resources would greatly help various areas of study in the science and technology curriculum for elementary students, and the science curriculum for secondary students. "For example, food safety issues can be integrated into courses dealing with public health, microbiology, or nutritional science," said Stack-Durward.