Food Science Workshop in Washington DC

I was offered a unique opportunity to participate in a science workshop being conducted by the FDA, NSTA and Maryland University this summer. In addition to the great food and accommodations provided by the hosts for this workshop, I was also able to visit some interesting places while in Washington DC. The purpose of the workshop was to educate science and consumer health teachers in the areas of food safety, nutrition and production. We began with listening to some lectures about food and how it is related to science. From there we spent every day in a new place learning even more than the day before. Our focus was on bacteria and how food is affected by bacteria and poor safety conditions. We learned how processing plants handle food and work to keep bacteria in check throughout the process of handling and preparing food. We spent two days in the labs at Maryland University conducting a series of experiments designed for middle and high school students. Upon returning to the classroom, we will teach the material to our students and other science faculty in our county.