The new college semester is underway and we are in full swing at Texas Tech. Along with the excitement for college football, students are preparing for their first round of exams and enjoying courses in a variety of topics from Animal Science and Biology to History and Political Science.

I’ve been in higher education for most of my 25 years and through the years, the core curriculum at universities has changed to include humanities, art and other essential topics to ensure that the students leave not only with a specialized degree, but also with an appreciation for the arts and a well-rounded viewpoint (whatever that means!). The “core” is driven by accreditation agencies but also by the state board of higher education. Simultaneously, the number of course credits required for a degree has declined and has become standardized across degrees.“Back in the day,” I needed over 140 hours to get a BS degree, and now it is 120. Some of the basics have been cut to make room for other courses.

There are always interesting observations made with a new group of students. Faculty are given lists about the Freshman class to put everything in perspective. For example, students in this year's class probably do not remember a world without iPhones. Maybe we should add food safety to the list and say, "Students in the Freshman class likely do not know how to properly handle food.”

In the past few weeks there have been a couple of foodborne outbreak reports that involve college students. The Arkansas Department of Health has reported at least 100 illnesses due to E. coli at the University of Arkansas. At least one student was hospitalized and was on dialysis. It has been reported that her kidneys are functioning enough to go off of dialysis and she appears to be recovering. The source of the outbreak has yet to be identified.

There is also a story that has resurfaced on social media about a 20-year-old student who died from eating leftover spaghetti that had been sitting out for five days. Digging deeper into this story, it actually occurred several years ago in Belgium and was reported in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Cause of death was Bacillus cereus. Regardless of the timing, it is alarming that a student would eat spaghetti that was left out for five days.

These are just two examples of how mishandling of food can lead to illness or even death. College-age adults can be of particular risk because they have recently left home and may not have learned how to properly cook or handle foods to prevent illnesses. I’ve been considering a study to evaluate current food safety practices among college students. My daughter teaches food sanitation at Texas Tech and gets to hear a variety of interesting stories about how students mishandle foods. I hope when they complete the course, they have established different habits.

However, this course isn’t on the “core” curriculum list. It is only required for those in food science or in restaurant/hotel management programs. It may be prudent for the higher education board to consider adding a basic food safety course, Food Safety 101, to the core curriculum. When we consider making a difference in public health metrics and moving the needle towards fewer foodborne illnesses, this course might have the greatest impact. A little prevention goes a long way!

Food Safety 101

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