NEWS 11/17/1992
P92-34 Food and Drug Administration FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Brad Stone - (202) 205-4144 The Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Care Financing Administration today announced the start of a new food safety education program for nursing homes to help reduce the incidence of serious and life-threatening foodborne diseases that can pose particular problems in the elderly. The agencies are distributing two instructional videos that explain how to avoid foodborne illnesses, particularly among the elderly, by proper food handling and preparation. The videotape/training kits also provide information on the illnesses themselves. 1975 to 1987," published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said that, while nursing home residents accounted for just 2.4 percent of cases of foodborne illness in this country, they accounted for 19.4 percent of the deaths from foodborne illness. "A high proportion of nursing home residents may have weakened immune systems, so they have a greater susceptibility to these diseases and are 10 times more likely to die from them than are younger adults," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Health James O. Mason, M.D., head of the U.S. Public Health Service. The new video package follows one developed three years ago by FDA and CDC showing how people infected with AIDS can protect themselves from -MORE- Page 2, P92-34, Food Safety foodborne illnesses. The current program expands this effort to the elderly and others in nursing homes. The videotape series takes a two-tiered approach. One videotape is directed toward informing nursing home administrators and medical directors about the scientific aspects of foodborne illness, such as the causative agents of disease, symptoms and diagnosis. It also outlines methods for reducing the risk of outbreaks. The other videotape is targeted to nursing home food service managers and workers. It instructs food service personnel on proper food storage, handling and preparation techniques, and is illustrated with case studies. The videotapes and case studies are being provided to the agencies' field offices throughout the country, and a limited number are also available to state and local public health agencies on a first-come, first-served basis. Nursing homes and others may order the videotape training kit directly for $39.00 plus $3.00 handling from: National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 Phone (703) 487-4650 When ordering, refer to # PB92-780857. FDA and CDC are agencies of the U.S. Public Health Service within HHS. The Health Care Financing Administration is another operating division within HHS. ###