Two top benefits partner
‘for life’
By
Bonnie Powell, DECA
Fat. It’s an epidemic among
Americans and military families are no exception. Now, the
Defense Commissary Agency is partnering with TRICARE in an
effort to create greater awareness of nutrition and healthier
eating through participation in TRICARE’s “Healthy Choices
for Life” campaign. As the health care provider of the
military, TRICARE’s overall campaign also addresses problems
associated with alcohol and tobacco use.
“A focus on nutrition is one of the major
trends in the grocery industry now and we want to lead the way
in making commissaries the place to shop for fresh, healthy
foods,” said Patrick B. Nixon, acting director and chief
executive officer for DeCA. “In addition to great produce
sections, we have organic and healthy food and wellness sections
in many commissaries. These types of products will be increasing
rapidly as more manufacturers get involved in the trend away
from fad diets and more toward healthier eating.
“Our commissaries worldwide will also partner
with health and wellness and nutrition professionals on
installations to sponsor commissary tours that actually ‘show
and tell’ military families what to look for on labels and the
kinds of foods they should be eating for better health,” said
Nixon. “We’re not trying to tell customers what they should
or shouldn’t buy when they shop their commissary, but we are
saying ‘it’s your choice,
make it healthy’ and we’re doing what we can to increase
awareness.”
DeCA’s Web site at www.commissaries.com
will be linked to the TRICARE “Healthy Choices for Life” Web
page. Beginning with National Nutrition Month® in March and
extending through the remainder of the year, commissary
customers will begin to see a series of related posters, special
cards in the produce department, healthy food fairs, handouts,
shelf signs with nutritional information, increased “healthy
food” sections and displays from manufacturers.
Single service member tours during Commissary
Awareness Month in May will have a “make it healthy” theme.
Customers will even have the opportunity to participate in
“commissary calisthenics” during Fitness Month in May.
“Just walking every single aisle of the
commissary has some value,” said Nixon. “But we might see
some fun exercises like calf stretches while holding your cart
in the queue line – or try some ‘canned bean curls.’ But
please put the cans back when you’re finished, or better yet,
put them in your cart!” Coincidently, the new 2005 Dietary
Guidelines for Americans from the Department of Agriculture
stress eating well-balanced meals and exercising daily for good
health and weight management.
“Just remember though, exercise and fresh
foods aren’t the only things you can get at the commissary,”
Nixon said. “Military families will find ‘financial
fitness’ by using their commissary benefit to purchase
groceries at cost. It all adds up to overall average savings of
30 percent or more over commercial grocery stores.”
The Defense Commissary Agency operates a
worldwide chain of nearly 275 commissaries providing groceries
to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and
secure shopping environment. Authorized patrons purchase items
at cost plus a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of
building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones.
Shoppers save an average of 30 percent or more on their
purchases compared to commercial prices – savings worth more
than $2,700 annually for a family of four. A core military
family support element, and a valued part of military pay and
benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance
the quality of life for America’s military and their families,
and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women
to serve their country.
Dance the “Four Step” to Food
Safety
By
Kay Blakley, DeCA Europe Consumer Advocate
It’s a great time
to learn and follow the four steps to food safety: Clean,
separate, cook and chill to protect foods from harmful
bacteria, which can ultimately result in food borne illness.
Military food safety inspectors help to make sure foods offered
for sale by your commissary are handled and stored according to
strict food safety guidelines. The commissary shopper’s role
is to apply these same good practices at home, by following
these helpful tips.
Clean: If
you only have time to keep one room in your house clean, make it
your kitchen! Clean all the food storage and preparation areas
of your kitchen, including the refrigerator, on a routine basis.
Hot soapy water is adequate in most cases, because it removes
dirt and most of the germs. In certain circumstances, such as
when raw meat, poultry or fish has come in direct contact with
preparation surfaces, disinfecting the area will provide an
extra margin of safety. Use a weak bleach solution (one teaspoon
household bleach to one quart water) or a commercial
disinfectant to clean the entire area. Use paper towels that can
be thrown away, if possible, but if cloth towels are used,
remove the dirty ones from the kitchen as soon as the
disinfectant job is complete.
Keep
in mind that you can easily contaminate your whole kitchen by
unwittingly carrying harmful germs on your hands and
transferring them to every object you touch. Wash your hands
often including before, during and after food
preparation; before you eat, and after you use the bathroom;
after handling animals or animal waste; after changing the baby
or covering your nose or mouth for a cough or sneeze.
Separate:
Cross-contamination is the transfer of harmful bacteria from
one food to other foods, cutting boards and utensils. When
handling raw meat, poultry and seafood, it is especially
important to keep these foods and their juices away from already
cooked or ready-to-eat foods and fresh produce. When shopping,
keep these foods separated in your grocery cart or place them in
a plastic bag to prevent their juices from dripping onto other
foods. At home, if these foods are stored in the refrigerator or
are frozen and then thawed in the refrigerator, use precautions
to prevent their juices from dripping onto other foods.
Always
wash your hands after handling raw meat, poultry and seafood
products. Use warm water and soap and dry hands on a paper towel
you can throw away immediately for the greatest protection
against cross contamination. Wash cutting boards, dishes and
counter tops that have come in contact with these raw foods
before preparing any other foods using these same surfaces or
utensils. If possible, use one cutting board for fresh produce
and a separate one for raw meat, poultry and seafood. Once a
cutting board becomes excessively worn or develops deep
hard-to-clean grooves, it’s time to replace it.
If
your recipe calls for marinating the meat, poultry or seafood,
always do so in the refrigerator, not on the countertop; and
discard any leftover marinating solution. Finally, never place
cooked food back on the same plate or cutting board that
previously held raw meat, seafood or poultry – always use a
clean plate.
Cook: Meat and poultry require various degrees of “doneness” to render
harmless any harmful bacteria present. A food thermometer is the
only way to be totally sure the appropriate internal temperature
has been reached. If you’re not accustomed to using a meat
thermometer, give one a try. You’ll find that not only are
your meat and poultry dishes safer, they are likely to be more
tender and juicy as well because with a thermometer you’re
less likely to overcook.
-
Whole
poultry should reach 180 F and breast meat 170 F. Juices
should run clear and meat should be white in the center.
-
Ground
beef should reach 160 F. The center of a ground beef patty
should be gray and its juices clear. Cook ground poultry to
165 F.
-
Beef,
veal and lamb steaks, roasts and chops should be cooked to
145 F.
-
All
cuts of fresh pork should reach 160 F.
-
Cook
fish until it is opaque or white and flaky.
Chill:
When
shopping in the commissary, your chilled and frozen selections
should go into
the shopping cart last – right before you head to the check-out lane.
These same products are the first ones you should put away once
you’ve reached home. Consider using cold packs or a cooler if
the commissary is a great distance from home. Bacteria grow most
rapidly in the “danger zone” – temperatures between 40 F
and 140 F. Keeping foods out of this temperature range is
critical to food safety. Make sure your refrigerator is 40 F (or
a little cooler) and your freezer compartment is 0 F. Cold
temperatures significantly slow the growth of harmful bacteria
so be sure to refrigerate perishable foods promptly.
Follow the Top 4 “cool rules”:
-
The
chill factor: Refrigerate
or freeze perishables and prepared foods as soon as possible
after purchase. If you’ve planned to take care of several
errands while on base or post, do your commissary shopping
last and head straight home with your perishables without
delay. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of
preparation, or within one hour if the temperature is above
90 F. Marinate foods in the refrigerator – never on the
countertop at room temperature.
-
The
thaw law:
Never defrost food at room temperature. Thaw food in the
refrigerator, allowing 24 hours for each five pounds of
frozen meat to be thawed. For quick thawing, submerge foods
wrapped in airtight packaging in cold water, changing the
water every 30 minutes. Thaw foods in the microwave only if
you’ll be cooking them immediately.
-
Divide
and conquer: Separate
large amounts of leftovers into small, shallow containers
for quicker cooling in the refrigerator.
-
Avoid
the pack attack: Don’t
over-stuff the refrigerator. Cold air must circulate to keep
food safe.
The Defense Commissary Agency operates nearly
280 commissaries worldwide, providing groceries to military
personnel, retirees and their families. Commissary patrons
purchase items at cost plus a 5-percent surcharge, which covers
the construction of new commissaries and the modernization of
existing stores. Patrons save an average of 30 percent or more
on their purchases compared to commercial prices. These savings
are worth more than $2,400 a year for a family of four. A core
military family support element, and a valued part of military
pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness,
enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their
families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men
and women to serve their country.
