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How do you teach junior highers about safe food handling? That was the question the San Bernardino County Environmental Health Department asked us a while back.

We knew right away that a straight, thirty-minute dose of tips and temperatures would be forgotten as students left the classroom. So, instead of delivering a truckload of details, we recommended planting an impression-- a single, powerful idea kids can remember: If you’re not careful, food can be dangerous.

The result was an exciting (and hilarious) video titled "Channel Surfing." The program spoofed popular TV shows of the day as it demonstrated the dangers of food-borne illness and explained how it can be prevented.

The story revolves around a young teen named Ryan, who will eat just about anything that doesn’t try to get away. He flops down in front of the tube expecting an evening’s entertainment. But he’s in for a surprise—every show on every network is focused on food safety.

For example, in a local news program, Dr. Y.D. Fuss comments on an outbreak of e-coli.
	Federal investigators Moldy and Scuzzy arrive at the scene of a kitchen calamity and uncover evidence that the counter-top is jammed with germs. The work of extra-terrestrials? Perhaps. The answer can only be found in the "Eggs Files." Click here to see this scene from the video.
Captain Sicko and Lt. Drags beam into a 20th-century supermarket. Their mission: lay in enough supplies to hold them over until their food replicators are back on-line. Because meat can spoil quickly in a hot, stuffy starship, they decide to buy their bread, cereal and warp plasma first, and pick up their perishables just before finishing their Store Trek, Deep Freeze Nine.
	What made Ralphy Blowchunks get “up close and personal” with his porcelain? Could it have been that ill-fated sandwich left on his bedstand overnight? It’s an "Unsolved Mystery" worthy of investigation.
In the meantime, Ralphy’s mom has her own theory: “I told him not to eat mayonnaise that’s more than one color or shows signs of movement.”
	It’s all a nightmarish experience for poor Ryan, who both learns and teaches a valuable lesson at the same time.

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