Household Food Preparers' Food-Safety Knowledge and Practices Following Widely Publicized Outbreaks of Foodborne Illness

Abstract

There has been extensive media coverage of the Pacific Northwest outbreak of foodborne illness caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7 in 1993 and continuing smaller incidences of both E. coli and salmonella transmission by food. An increase in consumer awareness and knowledge of microbial food safety was expected as a result. A telephone survey of Oregon food preparers (using a random-digit-dialing household sample) in December 1995 and January 1996 revealed that knowledge about foodborne illness was greater than in previous studies. Of the 100 respondents, 88% named appropriate foods as being at high risk for food poisoning. Salmonella contamination was recognized as a problem in food by 99%, E. coli by 100%, but campylobacter by only 7%. Major foods which have been associated with salmonella were named correctly by 90% and with E. coli by 87%. Although raw or rare meats or fish were rarely eaten or ordered by respondents, hamburgers were frequently requested to be cooked to “medium” doneness. Many said they would thoroughly cook food contaminated with bacteria to make it safe to eat (56% for salmonella and 59% for E. coli) but 40% responded that the foods either couldn't be made safe to eat or that they didn't know of a way. Respondents in general could not identify specific groups of people especially at risk for foodborne illness. Educational efforts should focus on risk groups and ways that consumers can prevent foodborne illness.

Using the Health Action Model to plan food safety educational materials for Hispanic workers in the mushroom industry

“…Fig. 1) It is not clear how knowledge affects practice in this sample, but other surveys, regardless of ethnic mix, found that level of education is related to food safety knowledge scores (Altekruse et al, 1999;Meer & Misner, 2000;Williamson et al, 1992;Woodburn & Raab, 1997). However, not understanding the role of pathogenic bacterial in foodborne illness or that their hands could be the source of pathogenic bacteria could lead to unsafe practices.…”

“…Based on information from the direct observations and adapting some questions from relevant literature (Altekruse, Yang, Timbo, & Angulo, 1999;Angelillo, Foresta, Scozzafava, & Pavia, 2001;Bruhn & Schutz, 1999;Fein, Jordan Lin, & Levy, 1995;Meer & Misner, 2000;Unklesbay, Sneed, & Toma, 1998;Williamson, Gravani, & Lawless, 1992;Woodburn & Raab, 1997), a survey instrument (available upon request) addressing knowledge, attitudes and norms pertaining to mushroom food safety issues was developed to be completed in individual face-to-face interviews. To assure content validity, seven individuals with expertise in food safety and food microbiology reviewed the draft instrument.…”

Food safety knowledge and practices among college female students in north of Jordan

“…Epidemiological data from different parts of the globe have shown that a significant proportion of foodborne illnesses are attributable to improper food processing practices in consumers' homes (Redmond & Griffith, 2003). Food can be mishandled at many places during food preparation, handling and storage (Knabel, 1995;Worsfold & Griffith, 1995) and several studies indicate that consumers have inadequate knowledge about procedures needed to prevent foodborne illnesses at home (Altekruse, Street, Fein, & Levy, 1996;Knabel, 1995;Mederios, Hillers, Kendall, & Mason, 2001;Meer & Misner, 2000;Redmond & Griffith, 2003;Woodburn & Raab, 1997). The prevention of foodborne illnesses requires educating food consumers on safe food handling practices (Jev snik, Hlebec, & Raspor, 2008).…”

Consumer food safety education for the domestic environment: a systematic review

“…As a consequence, food-safety objectives are now being set at the moment of consumption rather than at the moment of purchase (WHO/FAO, 2004) with consumers being heralded as the essential final link in the food chain to ensure safe food consumption and avoid food-borne disease (The Pennington Group, 1997, as cited in Redmond et al, 2004). This shift in focus has allowed researchers to comprehensively examine domestic food preparation practices using telephone surveys (Cody & Hogue, 2003;Redmond & Griffith, 2004a;Woodburn & Raab, 1997), postal surveys (Angell, 2008;Dharod et al, 2004;Redmond & Griffith, 2005a;Redmond & Griffith, 2005b;Redmond & Griffith, 2006a;Takeuchi et al, 2005a;Takeuchi et al, 2005b;Williamson et al, 1992), online surveys (Byrd-Bredbenner et al, 2007;Nauta et al, 2008;Unusan, 2007), home visits (Worsfold & Griffith, 1996), observations (Anderson et al, 2004;Clayton et al, 2003;Fischer, A. et al, 2007;Jay et al, 1999;Redmond & Griffith, 2006b;Redmond et al, 2004), laboratory simulations (Meredith et al, 2001) and reviews (Redmond & Griffith, 2003;Sattar et al, 1999;Wilcock et al, 2004).…”