Food safety at home: knowledge and practices of consumers

Abstract

AimTo define food safety and risk perception of foodborne diseases in the private home setting and identify specific behaviours during food purchase, storage and preparation in a large survey study.Subject and methodsA large sample of individuals (n = 1,000) living in the area of Cassino, Italy, volunteered to participate in the study. All participants were randomly recruited and underwent a questionnaire-based interview at their home regarding food-safety measures. Logistic regression analyses were used to test for correlations between demographic characteristics and knowledge/behaviours of food diseases. Risks of hazardous practices in the home were calculated according to educational, physical, occupational and marital status. All analyses were performed using the EPIINFO 3.5 statistical program.ResultsOur data showed that there was an insufficient amount of knowledge regarding foodborne diseases and pathogens. In most families, we found that there was a lack of correct adherence to food hygiene, mainly due to errors during both food preparation and storage. There was a higher risk for food safety errors in families with children, older persons and pregnant women.ConclusionOur findings confirm that the home environment represents an important site for the spread of pathogens responsible for foodborne diseases. In order to adopt good hygiene practices in the home setting, consumers need to be informed about safety procedures of domestic food handling, storage and preparation.

Incidence and farmers’ knowledge of aflatoxin contamination and control in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

“…The result can imply that single farmers might have lower liquidity constraints in the household, thus may be more likely to pay for aflatoxin control. However, this result contradicts those of Langiano et al (2012) who reported that high-risk behavior of improper safety rules was influenced more by single status than by being married.…”

“…However, this result contradicts those of Langiano et al. () who reported that high‐risk behavior of improper safety rules was influenced more by single status than by being married.…”

Food Safety in Home Kitchens: A Synthesis of the Literature

“…But there are gaps in consumer applications of Clean, Separate, Chill, and Cook advice from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and food safety programs like Fight Bac! and the World Health Organization’s Five Keys to Safer Food [22,41,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66], that have been documented in the U.S., Australia, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, and Turkey [15,67,68,69,70]. Inconsistent practices among home food handlers can negate much of the effort made in improving and maintaining food safety achieved earlier in the food chain [15,52].…”

Patterns of Food Safety Knowledge among Australians: A Latent Class Approach

“…A number of studies in the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, and New Zealand have demonstrated that many consumers have inadequate food safety knowledge. This includes knowledge of appropriate cooling and storage of cooked foods, safe preparation of meat and vegetables, adequate hand washing, correct refrigerator temperature, cleansing of food prepara tion surfaces, and awareness of the pathogens which can cause food poisoning (3,14,(23)(24)(25).…”