Ready, Set, Food Safe

Chef is cooking appetizer at commercial kitchenHealth and Wellbeing priority extension topic

Ready, Set, Food Safe

The purpose of this curriculum is to teach food safety to high school students as it applies in Idaho food service settings. Students can receive a State of Idaho-approved certificate in food safety.

The curriculum is divided into nine lessons. If students pass the certification test with a score of 80% or better, they can receive a food safety and sanitation certificate (also known as a food handler’s card). The training provided in this curriculum is approved for compliance with the mandatory demonstration of knowledge requirements of Section 2-102.11 of the Idaho Food Code.

Contact Laura Sant at 208-852-1097 or lsant@uidaho.edu for more information.  

Instructions for teachers only

Teachers that teach the food safety certificate class can access the 4th edition of Ready, Set, Food Safe curriculum through this website.

Request "teacher only" login access

  • Request a login password by submitting this form providing name, high school information and official email address. Once you receive instructions from the Extension food safety specialist, you'll have full access to the contents of this teachers only zip file (14mb) (downloads automatically).

Curriculum and supporting files can be downloaded or viewed online

  • Introduction of the curriculum and what to expect (pdf)
  • Introduction slides (pptx)
  • Nine lessons (lesson to print) each include objectives, goals, teacher background Information, materials needed, lesson text with thumbnails of accompanying PowerPoint slides, understanding check/summary, references and handouts.
  • PowerPoint slides will need to be downloaded and extracted to your hard drive. After extraction, please enable content in order for the audio/video to play.
  • Files of printable materials for student activities, including handouts and worksheets for many of the lessons, the student fill-in notes, an answer key for each lesson, a printable list of definitions and a song lyrics handout.
  • Certification test, three versions
  • “Jeopardy” game (zip) to help students review for the test will need to be downloaded and extracted to your hard drive in order to play.
  • Evaluation activity
  • Glossary (pdf)

A new certificate process

After teaching the nine lessons of the Ready, Set, Food Safe curriculum, teachers will need to:

  • Take certificate exam and score
  • Fill out the downloaded certificate record form and submit the form online
  • At the same time, submit scanned exam score sheets

Or mail original exam score sheets to:

Laura Sant
University of Idaho Extension, Franklin County 
561 W Oneida 
Preston, ID 83263

  • Keep the certificate record for future reference for at least five years (because the certificate is valid for five years)
  • The signed certificate cards will be mailed to high schools
Lesson 1 – Why is food safety important? Where do the rules come from?

The goal is to understand the magnitude and the potentially serious nature of foodborne illness in the United States, and the source of food safety rules for Idaho food service establishments.

Objectives

  • Describe the extent and cause of foodborne illness in the U.S.
  • Understand the cost of foodborne illness.
  • Identify the documents that regulate food safety in Idaho, and explain how they are enforced.
  • Describe the responsibilities of food service employees in preventing foodborne illness.

Lesson 1 to print (pdf)

The PowerPoint below contains an audio file, please enable content in order for the audio to play.

Student fill-in notes and answer key | Teacher only

Lesson 2 – What are the hazards to safe food

The goal is to understand the three types of food hazards and how to keep them out of foods.

Objectives

  • Identify the three categories of food hazards, and describe how to prevent them from entering foods.
  • Describe the characteristics of microorganisms that are relevant to serving safe food.
  • Identify the elements needed for bacterial growth.
  • Describe potentially hazardous foods, also known as foods that require time and temperature control for safety.

Lesson 2 to print (pdf)

The PowerPoint below contains an audio files, please enable content in order for the audio to play.

Student fill-in notes and answer key | Teacher only

Lesson 3 – What are some important foodborne pathogens?

The goal is to understand five of the important foodborne pathogens and their characteristics.

Objectives

  • Identify five important foodborne pathogens and describe the illnesses they cause.
  • Describe how pathogens get into our food supply and how to control them.
  • Name the five pathogens that are cause for exclusion from working in food service.

Lesson 3 to print (pdf)

The PowerPoint below contains an audio file, please enable content in order for the audio to play.

Lesson 4 – Food flow: keeping food safe from gate to plate

The goal is to understand the commercial food flow process from receiving through reheating, and how food safety can be either enhanced or compromised at each step.

Objectives

  • Recognize the steps in the commercial food service process, and be able to identify at least one food safety concern at each step.
  • Know that standard operating procedures are the actions followed to ensure food is handled safely by all employees.
  • Understand the different types of food allergens, and how to prevent a food allergy attack for a food service customer.
  • Know that water used in food service must be from an approved source, and how to avoid a cross-connection.

Lesson 4 to print (pdf)

The PowerPoint below contains audio and video files, please enable content in order for them to play.

  • PowerPoint slides-103mb (zip) extract file onto your hard drive
  • Activity handout
    • Interpreting food safety icons and answer key | Teacher only
  • Student fill-in notes and answer key | Teacher only 
Lesson 5 – Clean: do you want to eliminate a million...bacteria?

The goal is to understand the importance of cleanliness, healthy workers and proper handling of garbage, waste and body fluids in commercial food service.

Objectives

  • Understand the need for equipment and personal cleanliness when preparing food for others.
  • Demonstrate proper hand washing techniques.
  • Identify times when hands should be washed when preparing food for others.
  • Demonstrate proper use of gloves.
  • Make an approved sanitizing solution, and know when and how to use it.
  • List proper handling procedures for garbage, waste products and body fluids.
  • Recognize when sick employees should not handle food.

Lesson 5 to print (pdf)

The PowerPoint below contains audio and video files, please enable content in order for them to play.

  • PowerPoint slides-180mb (zip) extract file onto your hard drive
  • Activity handouts
    • Sick employees — Should they avoid food handling? and answer key | Teacher only
  • Student fill-in notes and answer key | Teacher only 
Lesson 6 – Keep it straight, don’t cross-contaminate.

The goal is to understand that the risk of contracting a foodborne illness can be reduced by safely storing and handling food from the time it is received to the time it is served.

Objectives

  • Describe cross-contamination.
  • Identify health hazards associated with cross-contamination.
  • Identify potential sources of cross-contamination.
  • Suggest ways of preventing cross-contamination.

Lesson 6 to print (pdf)

The PowerPoint below contains audio and video files, please enable content in order for them to play.

Lesson 7 – Hot tips: cooking, hot holding and reheating

The goal is to understand safe time and temperature guidelines for cooking, reheating and hot holding foods.

Objectives

  • Describe the temperature Danger Zone for potentially hazardous foods, and the 4-hour time limit for food to be within this range.
  • Identify recommended cooking temperatures for raw animal foods.
  • Describe how to hot hold and reheat food safely.
  • Demonstrate the proper use and cleaning of a food thermometer.

Lesson 7 to print (pdf)

The PowerPoint below contains audio and video files, please enable content in order for them to play.

PowerPoint slides-245mb (zip) extract file onto your hard drive

  • Activity handouts
    • "Safe Eats" case studies and answer key | Teacher only
    • Cooking hamburgers safely at home and explained | Teacher only
  • Student fill-in notes and answer key | Teacher only 
Lesson 8 – Chill out: the importance of cold temperatures in food safety.

The goal is to understand the importance of cold temperatures in the handling and storage of food.

Objectives

  • Recognize that foodborne pathogens do not grow but can survive at freezer temperatures, and that they do not grow, or grow very slowly, at refrigeration temperatures.
  • Describe acceptable methods for thawing.
  • Identify the safe temperature for cold holding.
  • Describe the proper method of cooling foods for storage.

Lesson 8 to print (pdf)

The PowerPoint below contains audio and video files, please enable content in order for them to play.

Lesson 9 – Managing food safety – putting it all together.

The goal is to understand that the food service industry uses two management tools to ensure food safety: Active Managerial Control and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP).

Objectives

  • Describe Active Managerial Control and how it assists in providing safe food.
  • Identify how Active Managerial Control helps a food establishment pass the health inspection.
  • Describe four principles of a HACCP plan and give an example of each.

Lesson 9 to print (pdf)

The PowerPoint below contains an audio file, please enable content in order for the audio to play.

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