Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Hilltop 4-H Meets

Hilltop Junior 4-H Club met March 9 with 23 members present. After watching a food safety video, the members were able to solve the 'Mystery of the Poisoned Panther Picnic.'

This was a video about a baseball team that missed the playoffs, because they got sick from food poison.

The club members noticed several things right away that went wrong with the team's picnic the cook's hands were dirty; cooked hamburgers were put back on the plate where the raw meat had been; somebody sneezed on the potato salad; and flies were all over the food.

They learned that bacteria, or germs, are everywhere, but in order for bacteria to grow two things are needed temperature and time.

When food is left out in the danger zone (between 40 and 140 degrees), the temperature is ideal for bacteria to grow. The longer the food sits out, the more time the bacteria have to grow.

A simple saying was learned by the 4-H members: "Keep it clean; keep it hot; and keep it cold." They learned to keep your hands and working surfaces clean; keep hot things hot and cold things cold.

Christina Daniels, Callie King, Franky Smithy and Curtis Wells volunteered from the group to participate in the Glo-Germ handwashing experiment.

After a special glowing liquid was applied to their hands, they were to use various techniques of washing them. One washed with water only, one with a quick wash and a little bit of soap.

Christian Daniel was the official timekeeper of the one who was to properly wash their hands.

With the help of a black light, the remaining members were then able to check out the germs left after the hand washing. Needless to say, there were still germs on the hands that got a thorough washing, but not near as many as were on the other hands.