Jan 2020 Food Safety and Systems News
Food Industry Employment Program Newsletter
January 2020
Dear
Welcome to my monthly newsletter where I share news about food safety, food compliance, and food systems change. I am building a community of food specialists who are interested in making the food system more equitable, sustainable and resilient through science and technology.
The biggest news this month was the USDA announcing changes to school and summer meals. As someone who spent a year as a FoodCorps service member serving in elementary schools teaching children about food and nutrition, lowering the requirements for fruit and vegetables is a step backwards. Given time and education and the chance to play with their food children will start to eat more fruit and vegetables.
One of the arguments for these changes is that it will reduce school food costs and waste. Research from the USDA has shown that healthier food in the cafeteria doesn't lead to more food waste and does lead to children eating healthier food, with less empty calories.
Once I learned about the nutritional guidelines for school lunch, I always thought that developing food to fit the guidelines would be important for the food industry to do and I'm glad to see that some have made healthier food products for school lunches. I would love to see more small food businesses in that space. Interested? Not sure where to start? Set up a call with the Food Industry Employment Program as we can help with that!
I've been writing these newsletters for a year now. If you enjoy reading them, consider sharing them with your colleagues. If you have any topics you would like to see addressed, please let me know.
If you have any food safety questions, we can chat! It's free!
All the best,
Cathy