Food Safety Slip Up (A Play for Youth)
Teen after teen at Forest Glen High School grew nauseous and sick. Was it
just the flu - or food poisoning? And who was at fault?
FOOD SAFETY SLIP UP
The Characters: Susie, Sandy, Sally, Sarah, classmates at Forest Glen
Farrah, a pal from another school
Mrs. Smart, Sarah's Mom
Nurse Watson, the school nurse
Hulk, a football player
Mr. Kleen, cafeteria supervisor
Mr. Holmes, public health investigator
SCENE 1: Saturday noon. After breakfast at the diner together, Susie, Sandy,
Sally, Sarah, and Farrah shop at the mall.
SUSIE: This looks like the top Sherry wore to the party last night, Sandy,
You were dying to know where she bought it. Hey, did you hear me? Earth to
Sandy.
SANDY: I don't feel so good, guys. Ugh. My stomach hurts. I need to sit
down. Does my forehead feel hot to you?
SALLY: You ARE hot. Maybe you're getting the stomach flu. A bunch of people
in my homeroom got it last week.
FARRAH: Or it could be something you ate at breakfast. Maybe the eggs. But
can food make you sick this fast?
SUSIE: I read that food poisoning can strike within two hours. It depends on
the type of bacteria in the food.
SARAH: Stop it! You'll make yourself sick just imagining things. I did a
report on that egg problem; the bacteria are called salmonella enteritidis.
But thoroughly cooking an egg destroys them. The only problem is with foods
that contain raw eggs - like eggnog and Caesar salad.
SUSIE: I'm not so sure. Let's call your mom, Sarah. She's a nurse. If she
comes to pick us up, maybe she can figure out what's wrong with Sandy. And
with me. I'm starting to feel funny, too.
SCENE 2: Twenty minutes later, the parking lot. Mrs. Smart drives up.
FARRAH: Am I glad you're here! First, it was Sandy. Then everybody else got
sick. I'm the only one who feels OK. Everyone else is in the bathroom. It
must be food poisoning.
MRS. SMART: Why do you think so?
FARRAH: Everyone who ordered the scrambled eggs at breakfast is sick. I'm
the only one who had pancakes.
MRS. SMART: Let me get you all home. Then I'll call the restaurant and see
if other customers have reported being sick. I doubt the problem is the eggs.
Most restaurants use pasteurized eggs like we do in the hospital.
SCENE 3: Monday morning, Forest Glen High School nurse's office. Nurse
Watson answers the phone.
MRS. SMART: Hi, Dolly. We seem to have a food poisoning outbreak on our
hands. Sarah and three of her friends were sick Saturday. One - Sandy Beach
- is in the hospital. It looks like salmonella. Since the incubation period
is 12 to 36 hours, it may have been something the girls ate at school Friday.
NURSE WATSON: Something is up. Nearly 50 students are absent today with what
some parents are calling flu. Mac Truc is in the hospital.
MRS. SMART: Oh, no! His mom was so happy that he was finally getting over
his bronchitis.
(Football player Hulk Higgins walks in.)
NURSE WATSON: I've got a student visitor, Stella. I'll call you later.
(To Hulk) So what's up?
HULK: Coach told me to talk to you. A bunch of football players missed the
game Saturday night because of some "bug." Most of us are better now, but we
think we had food poisoning. Did you see that piece about contaminated
chicken on 60 MINUTES? Well, ALL of us ate the chicken casserole the
cafeteria served on Friday.
NURSE WATSON: It does look suspicious, and the public health department will
investigate. But that 60 MINUTES piece was about raw chicken. When you cook
chicken properly, the salmonella is destroyed. I'm not saying the chicken
didn't get recontaminated after cooking. But try to think of any other foods
you all ate in the last few days.
HULK: One more question: If this is food poisoning, why do some guys recover
right away while others end up stuck in the hospital?
NURSE WATSON: Good question. Whether or not someone gets sick depends on a
lot of things. One is the amount of contaminated food they ate. And older
people and little kids have lower resistance. So do people who are in bad
condition or take antibiotics. Mac Truck was sick and taking antibiotics - so
that's probably why it hit him so hard.
SCENE 4: Nurse Watson's office, an hour later. The cafeteria manager comes
in.
MR. KLEEN: What's this about a food poisoning outbreak?
NURSE WATSON: Nearly 50 kids are out sick. Some blame the chicken noodle
casserole the cafeteria served Friday.
MR. KLEEN: It's an unlikely source. We don't make it from scratch. It comes
frozen from the manufacturer. But I'll see who was serving that meal.
NURSE WATSON: Inspector Sherman Holmes from the health department is on the
case. He'll want to check out the cafeteria.
MR. KLEEN: No problem. It's easy to blame food service, but most food-borne
illnesses happen at home. People are so lax about food safety. Do you know
if any students got together at someone's house Friday night?
NURSE WATSON: You may be on to something, Karl. Let me ask around.
SCENE 5: A few hours later. Inspector Holmes comes into Nurse Watson's
office.
HOLMES: We didn't find any traces of salmonella in the chicken casserole. I
ruled out recontamination because no other raw animal foods were prepared that
day. So the salmonella must have come from some place else.
(Hulk Higgins comes into the office.)
HULK: Are you guys busy? Or can we talk a minute?
NURSE WATSON: What is it, Hulk?
HULK: Well, I may have a lead in the food poisoning case. I'm not sure
exactly how, but I'm starting to worry that the culprit might be me!
NURSE WATSON: What do you mean?
HULK: I had a party Friday night, and everyone who was sick was there -
including my 5-year-old sister. I haven't heard of any other sick little
kids.
HOLMES: Did you serve any food?
HULK: Yes, I love tacos. I chopped up lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese and put
them in the fridge. I left the meat on the counter to thaw, and my mom gave
me instructions on how to brown meat in the microwave.
HOLMES: After you cooked the meat, how did you keep it hot for the party?
HULK: We have a crockpot.
HOLMES: I'd like to see that crockpot. And the instructions your mom gave
you for browning the hamburger.
SCENE 6: Nurse Watson's office the next day.
HOLMES: We've got the case wrapped up. The leftover taco filling in the
Higgins freezer tested positive for the strain of salmonella causing illness
in your students. I knew it would be the culprit.
NURSE WATSON: How could you be so sure?
HOLMES: Elementary, my dear Watson. Leaving meat to thaw on the counter
gives bacteria a warm, moist environment to grow. One bacterial cell can
multiply into 33 million in just 12 hours. Add a microwave into the equation,
and the picture gets even more troublesome.
NURSE WATSON: Why?
HOLMES: Microwaves don't always cook food evenly. And Hulk admits that he
didn't follow the instructions to let the food stand covered outside the oven
to finish the cooking process. He figured that the crockpot would finish
cooking the hamburger.
NURSE WATSON; Well, wouldn't it?
HOLMES: Crockpots can keep food temperature out of the danger zone. But this
pot had faulty wiring. Food should be kept above 140 degrees F, but this pot
kept it in the danger zone (40 degrees to 140 degrees F) between not quite
cold and lukewarm - the perfect temperature for the existing bacteria to grow.
NURSE WATSON: Too many people think foods are germ-free when they come from
the supermarket.
HOLMES: You're right. Hamburger meat comes neatly covered with plastic so it
looks germ-free. But any raw animal product carries some bacteria. And
bacteria live on the skin, on dirty aprons, on food utensils and cooking
surfaces. Since they're invisible, it pays to play it safe and keep it clean.
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7 COMMANDMENTS OF PREVENTION
You don't even have to cook to set the stage for food poisoning. So brush up
on these common-sense strategies.
1. Wash your hands before handling food.
2. Keep it safe: Refrigerate.
3. Thaw food in the refrigerator - not on the counter.
4. Rewash hands, utensils, and working surfaces after contact
with raw meat or poultry.
5. Never leave perishable food out more than two hours.
6. Thoroughly cook raw meat, poultry, and fish.
7. Promptly refrigerate or freeze any leftovers.
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TROUBLEMAKERS
Dozens of different types of bacteria can cause food-borne illnesses. Here
are some top offenders.
BACTERIA TYPICAL CARRIERS SYMPTOMS
______________________________________________________________________________
Staphylococcus Starchy foods, cooked Nausea, vomiting,
aureus meats, cheese & meat diarrhea; appears 2 to
salads. 4 hours after eating;
lasts 1 or 2 days.
Salmonella Raw poultry, meat, milk, Fever, diarrhea, cramps;
or eggs; cross-contamina- appears 12 to 36 hours
tion of raw and cooked after eating; lasts 2 to
foods. 7 days.
Clostridium "Batch" foods such as Diarrhea, gas pains;
perfringens casseroles, stews, sauces. appears in 8 to 24 hours;
lasts one day.
Clostridium Improperly canned foods, Causes botulism - double
botulinum swollen cans, loose lids. vision, trouble swallow-
ing & breathing; often
fatal; appears in 12 to
48 hours.
SOURCE: Maureen Callahan, M.S., R.D. Reprinted with permission from
CHOICES MAGAZINE, April 1991; pages 34-37, Scholastic, Inc.
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Updated 8/15/05