Older Adults and Parents of Young Children Have Different Handling Practices for Raw Poultry

Abstract

Salmonella and Campylobacter are among the most common causes of foodborne disease in the United States. Most illnesses are associated with eating raw or undercooked poultry or cross-contamination. Young children and older adults are more susceptible to contracting foodborne illness and have serious infections compared with other age groups. We conducted a Web-based survey of parents of young children (n = 1,957) and older adults (n = 1,980) to estimate adherence to recommended food safety practices for raw poultry and to identify differences in practices between the two groups. The findings present adherence rates for 20 practices. In both groups, less than 50% of respondents reported adherence to seven practices; thus, improvements are needed in these areas. Parent respondents were significantly more likely than older adult respondents to report following eight practices, with most related to avoiding cross-contamination and using a food thermometer. For example, parents (39%) were significantly more likely than older adults (31%) to report not rinsing or washing raw poultry (P < 0.001). Older adult respondents were significantly more likely than parent respondents to report following seven practices, with most related to chilling to proper temperatures and thawing. For example, older adults (87%) were significantly more likely than parents (69%) to report cooking, freezing, or discarding raw poultry within 1 to 2 days of purchase as recommended (P < 0.001). For the remaining five practices, no differences were found between groups. To motivate behavior change, food safety messages and materials must target specific at-risk populations as their practices are different. Additional research is needed to better understand how parents of young children and older adults like to receive food safety information and how to tailor the information to different generations.

Use of Focus Groups to Identify Food Safety Risks for Older Adults in the U.S.

“…With the exception of poultry-washing, the risky food-handling behaviors expressed by focus group participants were consistent with those reported as part of more recent research and included behaviors such as a failure to use a cooking thermometer or the consumption of undercooked eggs [ 18 , 19 , 21 , 39 ]. Previous quantitative surveys of both older and younger consumers reported that approximately 70% of them wash raw poultry at least some of the time [ 21 , 41 , 42 ]. Only about one-third of focus-group participants reported washing raw poultry.…”

“…It was previously recognized that older adults were more observant of food safety recommendations when compared to younger age groups [ 22 , 23 ]; however, the results of more recent research suggest that, regardless of whether they are more or less adherent to the recommendations than younger consumers, older adults engage in numerous unsafe food-handling practices [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. With the exception of poultry-washing, the risky food-handling behaviors expressed by focus group participants were consistent with those reported as part of more recent research and included behaviors such as a failure to use a cooking thermometer or the consumption of undercooked eggs [ 18 , 19 , 21 , 39 ]. Previous quantitative surveys of both older and younger consumers reported that approximately 70% of them wash raw poultry at least some of the time [ 21 , 41 , 42 ].…”

“…Despite their vulnerability, older adults have reported a number of unsafe food consumption and food-handling practices, including consuming undercooked eggs, failing to use a cooking thermometer and mishandling of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. It was previously recognized that older adults were more observant of food safety recommendations when compared to younger age groups [ 22 , 23 ]; however, the research studies positing an association between age and adherence are fifteen to twenty years old.…”

Understanding barriers to consumers to stop washing raw poultry through in-depth interviews

“…, 2020; Cardoso et al , 2021), and have a strong desire to clean the surface of the chicken from any slime, liquid or debris, which is consistent with previous research (Vatral and Quinlan, 2021). Kosa et al. (2019) identified twenty key food safety behaviors including practices to avoid cross-contamination, using a food thermometer, and discarding raw poultry beyond the safe useable timeframe.…”

Household presentation of acute gastroenteritis in a primary care sentinel network: retrospective database studies

“…London NHS Region had a greater hazard of AGE than other parts of the country HR hazard ratio, CI confidence interval, IMD index of multiple deprivation 40]. However, reports from recent surveys suggest there are variable rates of uptake [41,42].…”