Roy Costa, Registered Sanitarian and Educational and Training Specialist for the State of Florida, suggested purchasing a pail of plastic food toys. Common toy foods include hot dogs, hamburgers, eggs, fruit, milk, canned vegetables, etc. Rita Carr, at the University of Vermont, suggested bringing an assortment of common white household and cooking powders in unmarked baby food jars. Ask class participants to try to identify the different powders. Give a small prize to the person who can identify the most.
Participants quickly see how storing items in unmarked containers is a potential safety problem.
Microbes vs. Pesticides Consumers are concerned about bacterial and pesticide contamination of their fresh fruits and vegetables. Ohio State University reports that residues left behind on soaped-up fruits and vegetables might be as harmful as any chemical residues you're trying to avoid. Plus, the water rinse can also rid our produce of some microbial contaminants which may be even more important. Produce will last longer this way because the moisture that clings to the leaves after washing can hasten spoilage by helping the remaining bacteria to grow. Generally the packaged mixes don't need to be washed.