Professor creates food safety parodies

Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Lori Corbin
ABC News

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- When it comes to remembering important
information, music is always a useful tool. No matter what the subject,
a catchy tune can make all the difference when it comes to retention.
One professor proves that point, creating parodies about food-borne
illness. 

Dr. Carl Winter, a professor at UC Davis, takes a novel approach to food
safety. 

"I think I've been in 39 different states and Canada giving
presentations," said Dr. Winter. "I've distributed more than 20,000 of
my CD's." 

Winter created three dozen different parodies about food safety, along
with animated videos and DVD's. He also performs at conferences,
schools, even alphabet agencies like, FDA and USDA. 

"'You Better Wash Your Hands' is derived from the Beatles, 'I Want To
Hold Your Hand,'" said Winter. "'I have 'Don't Get Sicky With It' which
is based on Will Smith's 'Gettin' Jiggy With It.'" 

"He's getting out there in different languages and different countries,"
said Dr. David Theno. 

"And the biggest challenge is either with English as a second language,
young children, or people that are stuck in their ways," said Bill
Flynn, Ever Clean. 

Flynn says his company's job is to ensure businesses are performing safe
practices. They recently had Winter come croon at a safety convention. 

"He is doing such a good job in spreading the news about food safety in
non-traditional venues," said Dr. Theno. 

Winter realized what advertisers have known for years that a catchy song
and slogan makes it easier for us to remember -- far more than hard copy
that might be slow or boring. 

"Sometimes when it comes from a clinical guy, a food safety person you
can lose some of the message," said Flynn. "Have a visual aid like Dr.
Carl is huge." 

There are 76 million cases of food illness yearly, about one in four.
Yet there are so many things all of us can do to reduce the risk of
illness -- from hand sanitation to cooking techniques and proper
storage.