An Observational Study of Thermometer Use by Consumers When Preparing Ground Turkey Patties

Abstract

<jats:sec> <jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title> <jats:p>The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of an intervention for consumer thermometer use by using a randomized experimental design and direct observation of meal preparation. The study was conducted in test kitchen facilities in two locations in North Carolina (one urban and one rural). Cameras recorded participants' actions at various locations throughout the kitchen and recorded the meal preparation from beginning to end. Before preparing the meal, a randomized treatment group watched a 3-min U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food safety video “The Importance of Cooking to a Safe Internal Temperature and How to Use a Food Thermometer.” Participants in the control and treatment groups were observed while cooking turkey burgers and preparing a salad to determine whether a thermometer was used to check the doneness of the turkey patties. Following meal preparation, all participants responded to a postobservation interview about food handling behaviors. Treatment group participants were also asked about the intervention. A total of 383 people participated in the study (201 in the control group and 182 in the treatment group). Participants who viewed the video were twice as likely to use a thermometer to check the doneness of the turkey patties compared with the participants who were not exposed to the video (75 versus 34%) and twice as likely to place the thermometer in the correct location (52 versus 23%). Sixty-seven percent of participants who watched the video reported that it influenced their behavior in the kitchen. This study demonstrates the importance of timing and framing of a behavioral intervention for thermometer use and highlights considerations for the development of additional messages (e.g., proper insertion).</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>HIGHLIGHTS</jats:title> </jats:sec>

Cross-Contamination to Surfaces in Consumer Kitchens with MS2 as a Tracer Organism in Ground Turkey Patties

“…Thermometer video intervention did not affect quantifiable cross-contamination. Although the video did significantly increase the likelihood of thermometer use in the intervention group (P , 0.001) (11), it did not affect the prevalence, concentration, or number of surfaces contaminated with MS2 (P . 0.05; Figs.…”

“…Intended washing method affected the presence of MS2 on kitchen utensils. Observations from previous studies have suggested that people who rely on dishwashers to clean their kitchen utensils may be more likely to crosscontaminate those same utensils compared with individuals who rely on manual washing (11). For this reason, we systematically recorded the intended washing method.…”

“…Overall study design. Participants (n ¼ 371) prepared a meal consisting of raw ground turkey patties inoculated with the tracer organism bacteriophage MS2 and an RTE vegetable salad in a test kitchen (11). Approximately half of the participants (n ¼ 172) were shown a USDA-FSIS food safety video on proper thermometer use before the meal preparation (intervention group); the other participants received no prior food safety education and served as a control group (n ¼ 199).…”

Thermal Inactivation of Salmonella spp. Within Refrigerated or Frozen Turkey Burgers Following Pan Frying

“…Results of the proximate compositional analyses of the ground turkey breast (a 500-g composited portion from each of three trials; N = 1, n = 3), as conducted by a private testing laboratory according to methods approved and described by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 2012), were as follows: 0.6 ± 0.46% fat, 72.3 ± 0.25% moisture, 25.7 ± 0.25% protein, pH 5.67 ± 0.24, and a w 0.990 ± 0.001. The meat was inoculated, formulated, shaped, cooked, and sampled using methods described in our previous studies (Duong et al, 2020;and Luchansky et al, 2013and Luchansky et al, , 2020. In brief, ground turkey (ca.…”

Developing a Messaging Graphic for Storage Times of Refrigerated Ready to Eat (RTE) Foods for a Consumer Food Safety Health Campaign

“…For example, various studies tracking shopping, storage, or preparation in-home have shown that many consumers risk of foodborne illness from improper handling of food [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Even when preparing food at laboratory kitchen sites, consumers have shown that they often do not follow recommended practices [ 20 , 21 , 22 ], which can result in cross contamination. Previous studies have shown that consumers have misconceptions regarding proper food handling and refrigerator storage techniques including RTE foods [ 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”