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USDA TO SUPPORT 'BAC DOWN'

CHICAGO -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture will launch a public-awareness campaign by next week to educate consumers about the importance of keeping their refrigerators below 40 degrees, the agency said at the Food Marketing Institute show here this month.At a press conference marking the launch of the "Bac Down" campaign, Merle Pierson, acting USDA under secretary for food safety, said the agency

CHICAGO -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture will launch a public-awareness campaign by next week to educate consumers about the importance of keeping their refrigerators below 40 degrees, the agency said at the Food Marketing Institute show here this month.

At a press conference marking the launch of the "Bac Down" campaign, Merle Pierson, acting USDA under secretary for food safety, said the agency would issue a press release shortly before Memorial Day outlining the dangers of storing perishables at temperatures above 40 degrees. "No other measure is as effective in reducing the number of cases of Listeriosis" as storing food below that temperature, he said.

The Bac Down campaign is part of the Partnership for Food Safety Education's effort to combat food-borne illness. FMI, which is part of the PFSE along with other industry and government groups, is encouraging retailers to merchandise refrigerator thermometers in a convenient location and help educate consumers about the importance of storing food at low temperatures, said Tim Hammonds, president and chief executive officer, FMI, and chairman of the PFSE. "There can be a lot of benefit from this very simple message," he said.

FMI revealed its role in the campaign, which it calls "Project Chill," at the association's Midwinter Conference in January.

Hammonds pointed out that Listeriosis, the illness caused by Listeria monocytogenes, can cause miscarriages. This is why the campaign is focused on reaching young families.

Listeria causes about 500 deaths per year in the United States, according to Robert E. Brackett, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the Food and Drug Administration.

"It grows very rapidly at temperatures above 45 degrees," he said at the press conference. He said FDA's Listeria Risk Assessment found that if food is stored at 40 degrees or less, the number of cases could be reduced by 98%.