The Abuela Project: A Community-Based Food Safety Intervention
| Ryan Bell | Read by |
| Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition | Carolyn Raab |
| Washington State University | Nutrition and Food Mngt. |
| Pullman, WA | Extension |
| Oregon State University | |
| Val Hillers | Corvallis, OR 97331 |
| Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition | |
| Washington State University | |
| Pullman, WA | |
| Theo Thomas | |
| Washington State University | |
| Pullman, WA | |
| Yakima County Cooperative Extension |
Cheeses made in traditional ways, including use of raw milk, develop unique flavor and texture characteristics and are highly valued in many cultures. However, fresh (soft, unaged) cheeses made from raw milk have been more frequently associated with foodbome illness than any other type of cheese.[1]
Queso fresco is a popular fresh cheese in Latin America that is traditionally made with raw milk.[2] In 1997, raw milk queso fresco was implicated as the source of a major outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium in Yakima County, Washington.[3]
In response to the outbreak, we developed an intervention that included development of a recipe for pasteurized milk queso fresco and safe cheese workshops conducted by Hispanic grandmothers. The effectiveness of using grandmothers (Abuelas) as educators was documented in the Healthy Kitchen project from Colorado State University.[4]
The target audience for the workshops was persons who make queso fresco at home using raw milk. The goals of the intervention were to reduce illnesses resulting from the consumption of raw milk queso fresco while maintaining the traditional, nutritional cheese in the diet.
DEVELOPMENT
A well-respected member of the Hispanic community in Yakima had previously designed a pasteurized milk queso fresco recipe. Dairy scientists at Washington State University modified the recipe to inhibit undesirable microbial growth, increase shelf life and improve ease-of-use.
A pamphlet describing how to make the modified queso fresco recipe was developed and translated into Spanish. The pamphlet includes an illustrated description of the cheese-making process to assist those with limited reading ability. The logo on the front of the pamphlet depicted a grandmother holding a child (figures 1 and 2). The pamphlet was distributed at safe cheese workshops and to more than a thousand others who requested a copy. (Copies are available, from corresponding author.)
IMPLEMENTATION/RESULTS
Fifteen female Hispanic-volunteers (Abuela Educators) from Yakima County were trained to make the new queso fresco recipe. The instructors were bilingual. Training sessions were hands-on, with opportunity for questions and comments. Each Abuela received a set of equipment to demonstrate how to make the cheese as well as flyers and an apron on which the logo was printed. . Each of the 15 Abuelas fulfilled their commitment and taught at least 15 other people how to make pasteurized milk queso fresco.
In pre-workshop surveys, almost half of the Abuelas and workshop participants stated that they made queso fresco with raw milk. In the 6-month follow-up survey, all participants surveyed reported that they were currently making queso fresco with pasteurized milk. After the initiation of the intervention in July 1997, cases of S. typhimurium decreased sharply indicating that there was widespread adoption of the pasteurized milk queso fresco recipe throughout the community.[5]
The success of this project enabled us to obtain funding to expand the project to six additional counties in eastern Washington. Thirty additional Abuelas have been trained and are conducting safe cheese workshops.
LESSONS LEARNED
In surveys completed before the safe cheese workshops, 78% of the participants believed consuming raw milk queso fresco posed a health risk, yet almost half of the participants reported that they made queso fresco with raw milk. Although these people were aware of the risks and could purchase a pasteurized milk queso fresco in the supermarket, they had not yet initiated behavior change. The making of raw milk queso fresco continued until an alternative was presented for making a safe queso fresco at home. For these individuals, the desire to continue the tradition of making queso fresco at home appears to have outweighed the possible risks. The introduction of an alternative recipe stimulated the transition to behavior change. Part of the key to the successful modification of behavior was that the recipe for pasteurized milk queso fresco was easier to make than the traditional procedure.
Our findings suggest that making queso fresco at home is a strongly held custom within the Hispanic community. Without a safer, acceptable alternative recipe, some continued to make queso fresco with raw milk. We were able to preserve use of a traditional food by development of a tasty, easy-to-prepare recipe using pasteurized milk.
Some of the workshop participants had never made the cheese before. Thus, the project not only offered a safe alternative to long-time cheesemakers, but also expanded interest in the preparation of a traditional food.
Many food safety education campaigns focus on the need to avoid eating certain "risky" foods. Whenever possible, intervention efforts should encourage modification rather than elimination of traditional foods since encouraging people to abandon a food custom accelerates cultural decomposition. The Abuela Project was successful because the modified recipe enabled us to preserve the use of a traditional food while reducing the use of raw milk queso fresco.
REFERENCES
| 1. | Altekruse, SF, Timbo, BB, Mowbray, JC, Bean, NH, and Potter ME. 1998.Cheese- associated outbreaks of human illness in the United States, 1973-1992. Sanitary manufacturing practices protect consumers. Journal Food Protection 61:1405-1407. |
| 2. | Torres N, Chandan, RC. 1981 Latin American white cheese - a review. Journal Dairy Science 64:552-7. |
| 3 . | Villar R,Macek M. 1997. Outbreak of Salmonella serotype Typhimurium DT104 in Yakima County, Washington State, 1997. EPI-AID 97-055 Trip Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October 6, 1997. |
| 4. | Serrano, E. Evaluation of a training program preparing abuelas as nutrition educators [thesis]. Fort Collins (CO): Colorado State Univ. 1997. |
| 5. | Surveillance data from Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Washington State Department of Health. |
