Food Safety May be Easier to Learn When Taught as a Music Parody

Newswise — Musical parodies of contemporary songs can be effective in educating people about safe food handling, according to an article in the Journal of Food Science Education, published by the Institute of Food Technologists.

Music has frequently been used as an educational tool to improve recall of text and factual information. "Food safety issues could be addressed using music as a vehicle to convey complicated and often controversial information," writes lead research Carl Winter of the University of California at Davis.

It has been estimated that 76 million cases of food borne illness occur each year in the United States from microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. Many of these illnesses could be preventable through safe handling and preparation of food items at the retail, restaurant and home settings.

Audiences receiving the music-enriched food safety curricula included school foodservice supervisors, culinary arts students, consumer sciences teachers and youths aged 8 to 12 years in three states. Songs used for the curricula included "Eat It," a parody of "Beat It;" "Who Left the Food Out," a parody of "Who Let the Dogs Out," and "You'd Better Wash Your Hands," which parodied "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."

"Among school foodservice supervisors and culinary arts students, most were able to recall the main points of each song," writes Winter. "Family and consumer sciences teachers were enthusiastic about the use of music but also identified potential barriers due to the lack of appropriate audiovisual equipment or time constraints."

Youths who received the music-enriched curricula showed significant increases between pre- and post-tests on safe food handling behaviors and most were able to quote lines or phrases from the songs.

"The use of music in food safety education has been demonstrated to supplement traditional educational approaches very well by introducing variety as well as sensory stimulation and humor." Winter writes.

To read the research paper, visit http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122445662/PDFSTART

To sample Carl Winter's food safety song parodies: http://foodsafe.ucdavis.edu/html/audio/eat_it.html

About IFT

Founded in 1939, the Institute of Food Technologists is a nonprofit scientific society with more than 20,000 individual members working in food science, food technology, and related professions in industry, academia, and government. IFT serves as a conduit for multidisciplinary science thought leadership, championing the use of sound science through knowledge sharing, education, and advocacy. For more information on IFT, visit www.ift.org.