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Children's Books Focus on Food Safety

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

"Green Apple Tales" is a new children's series which aims to deliver food safety information through its lovable characters, colorful illustrations, and easy to understand principles.

There are ten stand-alone books in the series, and each one focuses on a different food safety principle.  Each book is based on USDA and FDA guidelines.  The principles in the stories help to keep families safe and cover topics including hand washing and food allergies.

Cindy Rice-Andrea, RS, MSPH, CPFS is president of Dining in the Light, Inc., and author of Green Apple Tales.  Rice-Andrea is an Epidemiologist and Certified Professional in Food Safety, as well as a food safety educator and consultant to the foodservice and regulatory industry.  She also serves on the Massachusetts Dept. of Education Lifeskills Advisory Council and the Partnership for Food Safety Education.  

"There is a lot that we can do to keep our families safe from foodborne illness and the spread of the flu virus," says Rice-Andrea.  "Green Apple Tales are meant to be shared by parents and children together.  Our goal is to help parents teach their children, one story at a time, and obtain important food safety information for themselves as well.  Teachers, pre-schools, and nurses have already expressed the need for this information, especially on hand washing, allergies, and illness behavior.  Simple recipes at the end of each book allow parent and child to prepare dishes together using the principles and foods described in the story, fostering parent/child relationships at the same time."

Cindy Rice Andrea said her goal in creating this series was to fill the information gap.  "The consumer has a great interest in food safety, but there is a lot of missing information," Rice-Andrea said.  "My goal is to teach children while they're young, while also teaching their parents at the same time."

There has been a tremendous response from both parents and children.  Children are excited to read the Green Apple Tales because of the colorful illustrations, and easy to comprehend material.  

Rice-Andrea said her future plans are to continue educating both children and adults on food safety.  She will be attending the USDA Food Safety Conference in March where she will be showing conference attendees how to use these books as a teaching tool.  

The Allergy Buddy Club, one book from the Green Apple Tales, has received a lot of praise from parents.  This book discusses the most common types of food allergies children have, and how to live a normal life with them.  It lets kids know they are not alone, and that many people have these same allergies.  Rice-Andrea said this is one of her favorites as well, as the response from parents has been wonderful.

Currently, these books can be purchased online at www.greenappletales.com, and will soon become available on Amazon.com as well.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on February 28, 2010 (boomark / email).