2017 EDUCATION MAGAZINE

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2017 EDUCATION MAGAZINE LINCOLN DAILY NEWS MARCH 1, 2017 Page 19
Dr. Penny Haase Wittler, Agri Science Educator,
Agriculture Science Department introduces
Food Safety to LCHS curriculum for 2017-2018
school year
Food safety has become an important national
focus, especially in the past decade. Each year,
approximately one sixth of the U. S. population
has mild to severe illnesses caused by pathogens in
food — and more than 3,000 people die from them
(USDA Statistics Service, 2015).
Learning food (safety) science will enable students
to better understand decisions and practices that
may affect their personal health as well as the health
of family members, friends, etc. It will encourage
them to step up to the plate and take an active role
in preventing foodborne illness. Understanding the
relationship between science and food will help
students reach goals they make in their lifetimes and
may provide a prosperous career in this important
field of study.
The Illinois State Board of Education has endorsed
Food Science courses to be implemented (if
approved) into the existing agricultural science
education programs in Illinois. Learning standards
and quality indicators may be found at as
well as MyCAERT that correlate with the science,
English, and mathematics learning standards for
Illinois secondary schools. This course also complies
with the National Agricultural Science standards that
were recently revised in 2014.
Course description
The Food Science year-long course is designed to
investigate the relationships among science, food and
nutrition. Basic laws of chemistry, microbiology, and
Students
explore
‘Food Safety’
Continued u