With young people across Michigan spending more time cooking, the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association wants to make sure they understand the basics of food safety and are offering a free course designed specifically for classroom learning targeted to young people aged 10 to 14. They’re calling it the SCRUB Club. 
The free online food safety education course developed for middle school-aged children and their families will be available through September 1st. The collection of resources encompasses core food safety principles, including:
- Time and temperature
- Cross-contamination
- Basic sanitation
- Most importantly, proper handwashing
Amanda Smith, Executive Vice President of Education for the MRLA, tells us, “Youth are spending more time in the kitchen cooking, and they need to know basic food safety for their health and well-being.” Smith adds, “We want to share our extensive resources with the public in an informative, accessible way. The SCRUB Club will help ensure children and their families are consuming food that was properly prepared and stored, promoting good health.”
The MRLA regularly hosts ServSafe training for industry professionals in addition to producing food safety training aids for the foodservice industry and adult consumers. Designed for use in the classroom or as a family, the SCRUB Club was created by the MRLA and iTacit, and made possible with funds from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Michigan Food Law of 2000, Act No 92, Food Safety Education Fund.
There are four courses online at http://www.MichiganFoodSafety.com:
- Clean
- Separate
- Cook
- Chill
When creating a free login, families are encouraged to register for the student course and educators should sign up for the teacher course. Prior to taking the first course, a brief questionnaire tests basic food safety knowledge. A similar test is provided at the conclusion of the four SCRUB Club courses. There is no cost to participate in SCRUB Club’s online food safety education course.
Lesson plans and activities are provided for teachers, including:
- A-Z Index for Foodborne Illness
- CDC and Food Safety
- Safer Food Saves Live
One of the classroom activities, the Hand Washing Experiment, explores how germs spread and how cleanliness increases with proper handwashing by using soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Teachers are encouraged to enter the MRLA’s Michigan Food Safety Video Contest. The video should address one of the four core food safety principles: clean, separate, cook or chill. Videos must be submitted by 5 pm on May 28th. The first-place video will be added to the association’s food safety video collection at http://www.MichiganFoodSafety.com, and will be viewable by the public. Teachers of classrooms submitting the top three videos will receive a gift card to use for their classroom. The teacher of the class awarded first-place will receive $500, followed by $300 and $200 awards for second and third place, respectively. Winners will be announced on June 4th.
Any Michigan classroom that has 60-percent of the students complete the SCRUB Club course can submit a video. It is the responsibility of the teacher submitting the video to secure permission for the students to participate per their local school district’s standards.
Resources provided to families include charts detailing how long food can safely be stored in the refrigerator and freezer, and links to a food safety glossary, and extensive food safety information from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
For more information and to register for the SCRUB Club course, visit online at: https://www.michiganfoodsafety.com/.
The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association (MRLA) is the recognized leader of Michigan’s hospitality industry, providing essential services to the foodservice and lodging community. Founded in 1921 as the Michigan Restaurant Association and now known as the MRLA, the Association represents over 5,000 Michigan foodservice and lodging establishments. The industry plays an integral role in Michigan’s economy, employing more than 595,000 people and creating nearly $40 billion in annual sales. For more information, visit http://www.mrla.org
