BHE314-Environmental Health and Safety

Module 2 -Case

Food Safety; Pests and Vectors; Air Quality

On a large university campus, you are part of a team of professionalsthat addresses health and safetyissues on campus. Food safety and Vector Control are two topics you have recently been asked to investigate. Write a 2-3 page paper in which you respond to the following two questions:

Food Safety

Question 1: On the university campus, there has been several complaints about dirty cafeterias. Several students have reported food borne illnesses to the student health center. You are asked to make recommendations to improve food safety in campus cafeterias. Members of your health and safety team are at odds over which approach to food safety best serves the interests of the campus community. Please provide a response to the following questions:

a. Explain which of the following two approaches to enhance food safety would be more effective in the long run - a stronger enforcement program by the local health department, or a mandatory food safety training requirement for all cafeteria employees on the university campus. Note that a large percentage of these employees are students.

b. Describe worker behaviors that may promote or compromise food safety. Please provide, at least, two examples.

Justify your opinion with evidence from the literature.

Vectors

Question 2: Recently there has been numerous reports of increased mosquito bites on the university campus and this is preventing students from staying outdoors. Additionally, the local health department has put out advisories that there has been an increase in reported cases of encephalitis and a few deaths related to West Nile Virus in the county.

Unfortunately, your campus health and safety team is very limited in its personnel and its financial resources and so therefore, you have to chose the most efficient methods to control this problem. Based on the information about mosquitoes in this scenario, respond to the following:

a. Describe the top one recommendation you would give to the campus community to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes that may transmit West Nile Virus. Justify your choice.

b. Describe the top one recommendation you would give to the community to control mosquito population.

Justify your opinion with evidence from the literature.

Assignment Expectations

Use information from the modular background readings as well as any good quality resource you can find.

LENGTH: 2-3 pages typed and double-spaced, in addition to a cover page. As a guide, each page length for the two questions should be 1.5 pages.

The following items will be assessed in particular:

Precision: Each of the questions of the assignment is specifically addressed in the paper. The paper describes your method of choice to improve food safety in cafeterias on a large university campus, worker behaviors that may enhance or compromise food safety, your recommendation to prevent mosquito bites, and your recommendation to control the mosquito population on a college campus with limited in personnel and financial resources. The rationale of your choices is presented.

Clarity: The paper reads clearly, it is not confusing. It is well structured and grammatically correct.

Breadth: The paper presents appropriate breadth covering the questions of the assignment.

Depth: The paper thoroughly describes the tasks of the assignment. Your paper describes well the rationale behind your strategy of choice for improving food safety in the cafeterias. The paper includes examples of worker behaviors that enhance or compromise food safety. The paper describes well the rationales for your recommendation to reduce mosquito bites, and your recommendation to control the mosquito population.

Critical Thinking: The paper integrates your understanding of food safety principles with your understanding of safe food handling practices by restaurant employees. The paper integrates your understanding of mosquito control with your understanding of implementing a mosquito control strategies in a community setting.

References: At least, two in-text citations are provided as well as a reference list provided at the end of your paper (APA formatting not required but highly recommended).