 The following is a production of New Mexico State University. Once upon a time, there was an ugly little germ. His real name was bacteria, but his friends called him back for short. A green and yucky egg. I get on food and make kids sick. Now, ever since back was a little germ, he spent his days wandering around, finding places for himself and his naughty friends to hang out and cause trouble. Some of their favorite places were backpacks, dirty socks, food left out of the refrigerator, and especially dirty hands. There are places that we love. Your shoes, your books, your baseball glove. We love your hands, the counter, your food. We're in such a germy mood. And everywhere that back in his friends went, they managed to be very, very naughty. They hid in backpacks, under fingernails, in pet's hair. Just about anywhere you can think of. And they loved to get on food. Sometimes, they even gave kids stomach aches. And if you've ever had a stomach ache, you know that's no fun. Well, one day, the kids finally had enough. They decided to pay a visit to Dr. Mike R. Scope in his food safety lab to find out what they could do to fight back. They wanted back in his friends to leave them alone. They knew all about Dr. Scope from the TV news. He was well known all over the Southwest for fighting back. In fact, many people called him back man. It's not about me. Everyone goes right back. And here's what happened. Dr. Scope looked at their hands. He looked at their backpacks. He asked them some questions and then said, If you want to get rid of back in his gang, you got to do four things. First, wash your hands. Second, rinse off fruits and vegetables before eating them. Third, keep your kitchen counter clean. Fourth, always put food back in the refrigerator. Hey, wait a minute. That's enough. Kids don't need to know this stuff. So the kids all went home and set to work. Well, it really wasn't very much work. When they came inside after playing, they went straight to the sink and washed their hands. They also washed after petting the dog, after using the bathroom, before setting the table, before dinner and snacks. Oh please, don't wash your hands. I beg of you. What is it something you should do? And not only did they wash their hands, they used soap. They used warm water and washed them for long enough to scrub off the germs and send them right down the drain. I feel ill. Pretend you're washing your hands with these kids. If you can remember to say this poem two times, you'll know that you've washed for long enough. Soap and water, that's the way. You can wash the germs away. Keep on washing when you do. You'll get rid of germs, it's true. Now your hands are clean, here's why. Germs are down the drain, goodbye. Soap and water, that's the way. You can wash the germs away. Keep on washing when you do. You'll get rid of germs, it's true. Now your hands are clean, here's why. Germs are down the drain, goodbye. Well the kids thought that was pretty easy, so they set about to try the second thing that Dr. Scope had told them. When they snacked on apples or carrots or other fruits and veggies, they washed them first with cool running water. Then they washed plain clean water from the kitchen tap, zapped back in his friends right out of the picture. Clean snacks, I'm out of here. What was next? Clean counters. Right, clean counters. They took down all their dirty things. Oh no, clean counters, where will I go? And finally, the children were very careful to put food back in the refrigerator when they were finished with it. When they took sandwiches to school, they put frozen cold packs in their lunch bags and sacks. Back hates to be cold. Hey too, I've got a terrible cold. I want out of here. So all of a sudden, back in his friends weren't around very much anymore. They stopped bothering the kids. Everyone was healthy and happy. Well, everyone but back. That's it for me. I'm done. It's true. Because now you know just what to do. Put food away, clean counters too. Rinse fruits and veggies through and through. And one last secret. Now I'll tell. Just wash your hands and wash them well. Soap and water do the trick. They make you clean, but make me sick.