Paradoxical risk mitigation behavior in private households

Abstract

More than 40% of registered foodborne outbreaks can be attributed to unsafe food handling practices in private households (World Health Organization (WHO), 2016). Although households represent the final stage of the food chain (where mitigation of food safety risks would be vital), consumers generally do not consider themselves to be a responsible actor in this respect (Taché & Carpentier, 2014). Poor hygiene and food handling practices are among the major risk factors for household-related foodborne illnesses, specifically cross-contamination and inefficient handwashing. In this work, we present two studies in which we analyzed hygiene and safety aspects of the poultry handling habits of consumers. Study 1 was an in-home behavior observation study involving 15 households. Besides inefficient handwashing, washing of poultry meat in the sink was the most problematic behavior. Salmonella and/or Campylobacter spp. were detected in 47% of meat samples taken during the home visits. Study 2 was a nationally representative household survey (N = 1007). 83% of the respondents reported that they washed poultry meat before food preparation. Based on patterns of poultry washing practices, knowledge about and interest in food safety, and worries about the safety of homemade dishes, five clusters of consumers were identified. Only one of these clusters had a significantly reduced tendency to wash poultry before preparation. The results indicate that, paradoxically, the more the conscious consumers are of microbiological hazards, the more likely they are to wash their poultry: most consumers believe that washing poultry before preparation is good hygiene practice and are not aware of cross-contamination risk.