November 15, 2019, 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST

Food safety and kidney disease

Handling food safely throughout the cooking and storage process is particularly important for people with kidney disease, and Chrystal Okonta walks through how to prepare food safely with special consideration for kidney patients.

Food safety is a serious public health concern. In fact, 1 in 6 Americans get foodborne illness each year, resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually. Knowledge and practice of safe food handling is especially important for those at a higher risk of foodborne illness, including people with kidney disease, kidney transplants, or diabetes.

The purpose of this webinar is to educate kidney patients, their caregivers and healthcare professionals about food safety during the Thanksgiving holiday so they can be better informed about how to safely cook, handle and store their meat, poultry and egg products.

Our speaker, Chrystal Okonta, from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, will discuss:

  • Four Steps to Food Safety
  • How to safely prepare meals for groups
  • Special considerations for kidney patients

    Authors

    Headshot of Chrystal Okonta

    Chrystal Okonta, MSPH, CHES

    Chrystal Okonta is a Technical Information Specialist with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. In her role, she seeks to protect public health and prevent foodborne illness. She leads educational efforts to improve the public’s knowledge and awareness of food safety. She also engages consumers by answering questions about food safety via email, chat, and hotline. She completed a Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) degree in Health Education & Health Communication at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).

    She previously worked in undergraduate admissions at Washington University in St. Louis, her alma mater. Chrystal is an avid reader of more than 50 books each year, is a semi-professional wedding guest, and loves ice cream.