Young S.T.O.P. Member Inspired - Speaks On Safe Food at FFA Competitions

It seems like safe food is on the minds of everyone these days, even high-schoolers. After hearing about what victims of foodborne illness go through, Michigan senior, Jasper Cunningham decided it was time to take things into his own hands. Jasper had heard of the Hinkley family who had lost their son Scott to E. coli poisoning in 1993. Young Scott was from a nearby town and was only three when he died, but his life made a lasting impact on the community, one that is still strong over 15 years later. Scott became the inspiration for Jasper's speech. As Jasper says, "The FFA is a national organization that strives to promote, premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through Agricultural Education. I love being involved in FFA. It has allowed me to see my own potential and realize my dreams. I have learned to be a leader and call attention to topics that need public attention. That is why I chose S.T.O.P. and foodborne illness as the topic for my speech." Jasper's hard work and interest paid off. He placed in his first round of competition and headed to regional's where he took an amazing 4th place. S.T.O.P. would like to wish Jasper the best of luck in his future competitions and thank him for his interest in safe food.

16 Years Later, S.T.O.P. Mom Still Speaking Out

Sixteen years ago Roni Austin set out to make a change in her daughter Lauren's memory. She succeeded. Roni not only helped put laws into place, she helped found S.T.O.P. Roni could have passed the torch to other members, but she feels her message is so important that she still continues to spread the word even today. Last year Roni's stepdaughter's class was reading a book that featured Roni's story. Roni agreed to come to the class and speak on what safe food meant to her. The class was so inspired by her story that their teacher asked Roni to come back again and make the lecture an annual event. Roni Agreed. On February 27th, Roni returned for the second time to speak to over 100 senior government students about "Food Safety, the importance of Advocacy, and Change done the right way." Roni says, "To me it has always been important for people to realize that they can be and ultimately are… the solutions to there own success and education as well as the complexities in life. I was there in part, not only to tell Lauren’s Story but to show them that they can be the one who has a say in developing their own solutions in life... Not only for themselves, and to right a wrong, but for the greater good."

In Memory of Mom - S.T.O.P. Member Heads to Washington DC

Jeff Almer's mother Shirley had a lot of Sisu; which is what Finnish people call a person with spunk, fortitude and determination. That is why her death on December 21, 2008 came as a shock to his family. Shirley had beaten cancer and a brain tumor, but it was Salmonella contaminated peanut butter that took her life. After Shirley's death her family took it upon themselves to do what they thought she would have wanted. They spoke out. Jeff and other family members have done numerous interviews and told their heartbreaking story more times than they can count. Jeff even traveled with S.T.O.P. to testify before congress. S.T.O.P. would like to thank Jeff and his family for having the courage to stand up in their time of grief to bring much needed awareness to the issue of safe food.

Taking Things Into Her Own Hands - Food Recalls

Over the past few years S.T.O.P. has received numerous compliments on our E-alerts. Our members have contacted us on many occasions letting us know that they had contaminated product in their homes and in some cases were even planning on serving it to their families the very day they saw the item appear in one of our e-mails. We like to think that our message is reaching far and wide. But we are well aware that we are reaching a limited population. So how do you best inform consumers about recalled food? That is the question S.T.O.P. Member Sharon Griswold asked herself after she became ill from contaminated food. When grocery stores have a food recall, they are supposed to pull the products from their shelves and warehouses. Sometimes a local newspaper or evening news will run a story, but what happens if you miss the story? Sharon decided that a Food Recall Posting Program would be a fast and convenient way to make recall information available to all consumers. She has suggested that each grocery store have a dedicated bulletin board at their front entrance that would list all recalled food. By doing so, all consumers, especially those without a computer, would have the information they need to make an informed decision about their own food safety. Sharon has made numerous phone calls and e-mails to the FDA, USDA, and her representatives in hopes to gain support for this proposal. She is hopeful that her home state of Georgia will either pass this program as a rule or law in the future. Until then, Sharon was able to convince one of the largest grocery store chains in the U.S. of the merit of the program. This chain will be implementing the Food Recall Posting Program within the next month. S.T.O.P. views this as a big victory for consumers and applauds Sharon for her efforts.

S.T.O.P. Mom Convinces Schools to Stop Serving Peanut Products

(Morgan Dockter)

The Dockter family lost their precious Morgan to E. coli poisoning almost 7 years ago. Not one day goes by where they don't think of her. Because of what happened to their family the Dockters are always keeping up with food safety news. When Morgan's mother, Shauna heard that her town's school lunch program had peanut butter products on the menu shortly after the peanut butter outbreak began to unfold, she vowed to stop them from being served. Shauna called the local school and explained what was happening with the numerous recalled products and asked that the school air on the side of caution and remove products with peanut butter from the menu. At first the school system didn't understand why serving peanut butter products would cause harm, but after Shauna explained what had happened to her family and of the numerous products being recalled, the school system pulled the products from the menu. Shauna later received a call thanking her for taking the time to contact the school. S.T.O.P. applauds Shauna and thanks her for her efforts.