Food Safety Guidance for Older Adults

Kendall, Patricia A.; Hillers, Virginia N.; Medeiros, Lydia C.

doi:10.1086/503262

Cited by 52 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 72 publications

(98 reference statements)

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“…The larger increase will be in Spain (35.6%), in Italy (35.5%) and in Greece (32.5%). The growing segment of persons older than 65 years forms a special population at risk for infections (Gerba, Rose, & Haas, 1996;Greig & Lee, 2009;Kendall, Hillers, & Medeiros, 2006). Particularly, more than 80 year-old subjects are at increased risk for both infections and death from infections, including foodborne illnesses, because of the decrease in immune function, comorbidities and other factors, such as malnutrition and inactivity (Strausbaugh, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices of food service staff in nursing homes and long-term care facilities

Buccheri

Mammina²,

Giammanco

et al. 2010

Food Control

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a b s t r a c tThe aim of this study was to investigate knowledge, attitudes and practices of food service staff in nursing homes and long-term care facilities for the elderly in Sicily, Italy. Association with some demographic and work-related variables was also investigated. This survey provides information and outlines many complex questions concerning the basics of food hygiene. Education level, length of service in the employment and attending courses on food hygiene influenced the knowledge, attitudes and practices of food service staff. This study has evidenced the need for continuous training among food service staff regarding food safety in LTCF and nursing homes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices of food service staff in nursing homes and long-term care facilities

Buccheri

Mammina²,

Giammanco

et al. 2010

Food Control

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“…2 Declines in immune system function account for older adults' greater vulnerability to foodborne illnesses. 3 Age-related immune declines are caused by conditions that affect older adults more often than younger people or have more deleterious effects in older adults. Loss of stomach acidity, major surgeries, malnutrition, underlying illnesses, and diminished physiological capacity render infections in general and foodborne illnesses in particular of greater consequence for older adults.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Safety Perceptions and Practices of Older Adults

2011

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SynopSiSobjectives. Older adults are considered more vulnerable to foodborne illness due to lowered immune function. We compared the food safety perceptions and practices of older and younger adults and determined associations with demographic characteristics.Methods. We focused on 1,317 participants 60 years of age from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 2006 Food Safety Survey, a telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of American consumers. We used data on participants 60 years of age to compare younger and older adults, and used Pearson's Chi-square tests to determine whether perceptions and practices differed by age, gender, level of education, living arrangement, and race/ethnicity. We conducted multiple logistic regression analysis to assess relationships of demographic characteristics and food safety perceptions with food safety practices of older adults.Results. We found that adults 60 years of age were more likely to follow recommended food safety practices than those 60 years of age. Sixty-six percent of adults 60 years of age reported eating potentially hazardous foods in the past year compared with 81% of adults 60 years of age. Among people 60 years of age, women, those with less education, and nonwhite individuals generally had better food safety practices and a greater awareness of food safety risk.Conclusions. These findings suggest that certain subsets of the older adult population are less likely to follow recommended food safety practices and, thus, are at greater risk of foodborne illness. Food safety education for older adults should target men and those with more education and higher incomes.

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“…Seniors with diminished capacity or physical impairment -who are taking multiple medicines or have weakened immune systems -are less able to fight foodborne pathogens, such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria, and other bacterial or viral infections (Kendall et al 2006). About 80% of seniors in the United States have at least one chronic health condition, and 50% have at least two; some chronic conditions render them more susceptible to foodborne illness (CDC 2011a).…”

Section: Risk Of Foodborne Illnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seniors, and their food handlers and caregivers, need food safety and nutrition education

Blackburn¹,

Bruhn

Miller³

et al. 2014

Cal Ag

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Seniors are at greater risk than other adults for foodborne illness, poor nutrition and high rates of nutrition-and lifestyle-related chronic diseases. They also represent a major underserved segment of the UC Cooperative Extension client population. The Make Food Safe for Seniors (MFSFS) initiative assessed food safety and nutrition education needs of fixed-income seniors and food handlers and caregivers serving seniors in 10 California counties. Baseline survey results found unsafe practices by over 50% of the participants in six areasand by over 65% of participants in three of those areas. After one food safety training, a post-test showed an average knowledge gain of 18.1%; seniors had gained the least knowledge, food handlers had gained some knowledge, and caregivers had gained the most. The unsafe food handling practices of a majority of the study group, as well as poor food behaviors, suggested areas in which education could reinforce or improve food safety, healthy eating and disease prevention practices of seniors, caregivers and food handlers serving seniors.T he coming of age of baby boomers accelerated the rate at which California's population is turning gray. In "The Graying of California," a special issue of this journal, UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR 2010) acknowledged this as an emerging concern. Public health professionals for many years have been concerned that the workforce is not adequately prepared for the needs of America's aging population (Krisberg 2005). In our research we were concerned about the rapidly increasing numbers of older Californians at greater risk for foodborne illness (food poisoning) as well as their need for nutrition education to promote healthy aging (Blackburn 2010). Risk of foodborne illnessAdults over the age of 60 are more likely than younger adults to experience complications, hospitalization and death because of foodborne infections (Cates et al. 2009). Seniors with diminished capacity or physical impairment -who are taking multiple medicines or have weakened immune systems -are less able to fight foodborne pathogens, such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria, and other bacterial or viral infections (Kendall et al. 2006). About 80% of seniors in the United States have at least one chronic health condition, and 50% have at least two; some chronic conditions render them more susceptible to foodborne illness (CDC 2011a). About 3.6 million Californians are over age 65. At least 55% of these seniors suffer from hypertension, 50% from arthritis, 24.0% from heart disease, 17.3% are diagnosed with cancer and 14.8% have diabetes. These top five chronic disease conditions vary significantly in California by ethnic group (Wallace et al. 2003) (fig. 1).Of major concern are those seniors who are suffering from deficits in memory functioning. Lapses in episodic memory (the recollection of personally experienced events) are an important contributing factor to unsafe food handling, missed or mistakenly repeated doses of medications and ...

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Food Safety Guidance for Older Adults

Cited by 52 publications

References 72 publications

Knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices of food service staff in nursing homes and long-term care facilities

Knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices of food service staff in nursing homes and long-term care facilities

Food Safety Perceptions and Practices of Older Adults

Seniors, and their food handlers and caregivers, need food safety and nutrition education

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