Consumer Food Safety Practices Research Articles

Investigating Key Factors Influencing Consumer Food Practices and Choices for Ensuring Food Safety: A Case Study of Coimbatore Residents

Aim: The primary objective of this study is to employ the Mann-Whitney U test as a robust statistical tool to assess and establish the significance of the association between the education levels of the respondents and their behaviour regarding checking for quality marks before initiating product purchases. By utilizing this non-parametric test, we intend to discern whether there exists a meaningful and statistically significant difference in the likelihood of individuals with varying educational backgrounds to prioritize the inspection of quality marks as part of their consumer decision-making process.
 Study Design: Since the study has its own predetermined objectives and methodology, it is descriptive in nature. The survey analyses the factors influencing the food safety practices of consumers during the period of June and July of 2023 (60 days) as a part of Masters research work.
 Place and Duration of Study: The research was carried out in Coimbatore city. During the months of June and July of 2023, primary data was collected from a random sample of respondents.
 Methodology: The study specifically targeted a sample size of 200 consumers (93 men, 107 Women).. A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the sample respondents. The study employed the Mann-Whitney test to assess if a significant relationship exists between respondents' education levels and their tendency to inspect quality marks before purchasing products. This analysis seeks to uncover potential distinctions in this behaviour based on educational backgrounds.
 Results: This study identifies the significance between the education and the food safety practices from purchase to home. The results indicate that there is significant difference between the education and Check for quality marks before buying the products. Results of Mann-Whitney U-Test showed that the difference between Graduate (1) and non-Graduate (0) with respect to the dependent variable Check for quality marks before buying the products was statistically significant, U=4158, p=.046, r= 0.15. Thus, the null hypothesis is rejected.
 Conclusion: This study underscores a significant relationship between respondents' education levels and their practice of checking quality marks before product purchases. The test demonstrates a statistically significant distinction between Graduates and Non-Graduates (U=4158, p=.046, r=0.15), highlighting the influence of education on consumer behavior. Consequently, the null hypothesis is rejected, emphasizing the importance of education in shaping consumer decision-making processes.

The Influence of Selected Food Safety Practices of Consumers on Food Waste Due to Its Spoilage.

Food waste in households is a consequence of the accumulation of improper practices employed by consumers when dealing with food. The survey estimated the impact of practices of Polish respondents, in the context of selected food safety and hygiene issues, on throwing away food due to spoilage. The survey was conducted in 2019, in a random quota-based, nationwide sample of 1115 respondents 18 years old and older. Synthetic indicators (SI) were created to assess the knowledge and practices of Polish adult respondents concerning selected areas of food management and the frequency of throwing food away. Most food products were not thrown away at all or were thrown away occasionally. Regression analysis revealed that the frequency of throwing food away was to the greatest extent related to food spoilage (β = 0.223). Among the five areas of Polish respondents’ practices covered by the analysis, the most conducive to wasting food due to spoilage were improper proceedings with food after bringing it home (β = 0.135; p = 0.000), a failure to ensure proper food storage conditions (β = 0.066; p = 0.030), or inappropriate proceedings with uneaten meals, excluding the food plate (β = 0.066; p = 0.029). To reduce food waste in Polish households, drawing the attention of consumers to the conditions of food storage at home seems appropriate. It is also vital to convince them to use freezing of uneaten food as an effective method of extending the life of food products.

Food Handling Practices in the Era of COVID-19: A Mixed-Method Longitudinal Needs Assessment of Consumers in the United States

At present, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has not been shown to be transmitted through food. Even so, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed how consumers view food and food safety. This study assessed consumer food safety practices during the COVID-19 pandemic using (i) surveys and (ii) online focus group discussions. From April to August 2020, five waves of surveys were distributed to an online U.S. consumer panel and screened to include only primary food preparers and grocery shoppers. The online focus groups were conducted via WebEx from May to July 2020. Focus group participants were recruited from the first wave of survey respondents. Both survey respondents and focus group participants reported higher levels of hand washing in response to the pandemic. However, survey participants' anticipated levels of hand washing after the pandemic decreased; some focus group participants noted that human nature "kicking in" could lead to lower levels of hand hygiene practice. For each of the 5 months, the surveys reported increased produce washing, both with water only and with water plus soap. Most focus group participants mentioned using water to wash their produce, but some reported using soap and even vinegar to "kill" the virus. Since consumers were worried that SARS-CoV-2 could survive on food, they started to mishandle food to address these concerns. However, this study also reported an increase in food thermometer use during the pandemic. Social determinants like gender, income, education, and age may have also influenced changes in levels of practice throughout the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic drove consumers to practice proper and improper food safety practices, which may or may not continue after the pandemic. This study's findings provide timely information to guide future food safety education and communication during health crises and pandemics.

Assessing consumer food safety education needs across the state of Washington: Implications for nationwide extension programming

AbstractWashington State University Extension conducted a statewide consumer food safety assessment, to evaluate consumer food safety practices within Washington state, with the intent of creating and delivering new and effective food safety programming. The results of this study showed a lack of consumer knowledge across a broad spectrum. Moreover, the results showed that Extension needs to play a greater role in educating consumers about food safety. Social media and websites are more likely to drive consumer education. Statewide data was sometimes inconsistent with nationwide data, and geographical and demographic differences may play a role in local food safety knowledge.Practical applicationsExtension plays a major role in food safety education across the United States. Classical extension programming and access has a far lesser reach in todays internet‐based society. The information presented below can help direct new methods of education and outreach, by focusing efforts on behavior change and consumer access through web‐based resources.

Canadian Consumer Food Safety Practices and Knowledge: Foodbook Study

Understanding consumers' food safety practices and knowledge supports food safety education for the prevention of foodborne illness. The objective of this study was to describe Canadian consumer food safety practices and knowledge. This study identifies demographic groups for targeted food safety education messaging and establishes a baseline measurement to assess the effectiveness of food safety interventions over time. Questions regarding consumer food safety practices and knowledge were included in a population-based telephone survey, Foodbook, conducted from November 2014 to March 2015. The results were analyzed nationally by age group and by gender. The results showed that approximately 90% of Canadians reported taking the recommended cleaning and separating precautions when handling raw meat to prevent foodborne illness. Only 29% of respondents reported using a food thermometer when cooking any meat, and even fewer (12%) reported using a food thermometer for small cuts of meat such as chicken pieces. The majority (>80%) of Canadians were aware of the foodborne illness risks related to chicken and hamburger, but fewer (<40%) were aware of the risks related to frozen chicken nuggets, alfalfa sprouts, soft unpasteurized cheese, and unpasteurized juices. Generally, men were less likely to follow cooking instructions on packaging and took fewer steps to prevent cross-contamination than women. The youngest (18 to 29 years) age group was less likely to take steps to avoid cross-contamination and was less aware of the risks associated with eating an undercooked hamburger. The oldest (60+ years) respondents were less likely to be aware of the risks associated with raw eggs, alfalfa sprouts, and unpasteurized juice than the middle (30 to 59 years) age group. As a priority, food safety education in Canada should focus on increasing people's awareness of high-risk foods, specifically foods for which the awareness of risk found in this study was low; targeting messaging to demographic groups as appropriate; and promoting the use of food thermometers when cooking meat and poultry.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of food safety education interventions for consumers in developed countries.

BackgroundFoodborne illness has a large public health and economic burden worldwide, and many cases are associated with food handled and prepared at home. Educational interventions are necessary to improve consumer food safety practices and reduce the associated burden of foodborne illness.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review and targeted meta-analyses to investigate the effectiveness of food safety education interventions for consumers. Relevant articles were identified through a preliminary scoping review that included: a comprehensive search in 10 bibliographic databases with verification; relevance screening of abstracts; and extraction of article characteristics. Experimental studies conducted in developed countries were prioritized for risk-of-bias assessment and data extraction. Meta-analysis was conducted on data subgroups stratified by key study design-intervention-population-outcome categories and subgroups were assessed for their quality of evidence. Meta-regression was conducted where appropriate to identify possible sources of between-trial heterogeneity.ResultsWe identified 79 relevant studies: 17 randomized controlled trials (RCTs); 12 non-randomized controlled trials (NRTs); and 50 uncontrolled before-and-after studies. Several studies did not provide sufficient details on key design features (e.g. blinding), with some high risk-of-bias ratings due to incomplete outcome data and selective reporting. We identified a moderate to high confidence in results from two large RCTs investigating community- and school-based educational training interventions on behaviour outcomes in children and youth (median standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.20, range: 0.05, 0.35); in two small RCTs evaluating video and written instructional messaging on behavioural intentions in adults (SMD = 0.36, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.02, 0.69); and in two NRT studies for university-based education on attitudes of students and staff (SMD = 0.26, 95 % CI: 0.10, 0.43). Uncontrolled before-and-after study outcomes were very heterogeneous and we have little confidence that the meta-analysis results reflect the true effect. Some variation in outcomes was explained in meta-regression models, including a dose effect for behaviour outcomes in RCTs.ConclusionsIn controlled trials, food safety education interventions showed significant effects in some contexts; however, many outcomes were very heterogeneous and do not provide a strong quality of evidence to support decision-making. Future research in this area is needed using more robust experimental designs to build on interventions shown to be effective in uncontrolled before-and-after studies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2171-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Consumer Food Safety Practices

Consumer Food Safety Practices Joseph, A; W. L. Whittaker Abstract Foodborne illness can be serious or even fatal, therefore, it is important for consumers to know and practice safe food handling behaviors to help reduce the risk of getting sick from contaminated food. It is also vital to understand consumer responses to various food safety issues for the development and implementation of effective policies to prevent contamination. This study investigated aspects of consumer food safety practices. It gathered information for development of effective food safety education initiatives from selected southwest Mississippi counties. Data were collected by means of face-to-face survey. Analysis was done using SPSS. Two hundred (200) consumers were surveyed, which represented a response rate of 80 percent. The results indicate that respondents consisted of 65.5 percent African- Americans, 27.5 percent white, and 7 percent Hispanics, Asians, and other races. Over 65.5 percent of respondents were female and 34.5 percent were male. A majority of respondents stated that food safety begins with proper hand washing and that practicing food safety helps maintain good health. This project provides an opportunity for the development and implementation of food safety education strategies to improve specific food safety behaviors in homes, schools and other public places. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jaes.v3n4a12

Identification of critical points during domestic food preparation: an observational study

PurposeThe International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene's (IFH) approach to infectious disease prevention is “targeted hygiene”, which means identifying the routes of transmission of infection in the home and community, and targeting hygiene measures at “critical points” (CPs) to break the chain of transmission. This paper aims to identify and prioritise CPs in the home kitchen environment during food preparation in order to inform food safety campaigns.Design/methodology/approachThis study involved: filming participants (n=60) while they prepared a meal according to a specified recipe (30 beef/salad burgers and 30 chicken salads); swabbing key potential contamination sites in the participant's kitchen for microbiological testing; sampling the meat and salad components of the cooked meal for microbiological testing; visual inspection and temperature check of the meat after cooking; and administering a survey of knowledge, attitudes and demographic factors.FindingsThis study has identified the critical points (CPs) during domestic food preparation as: CP1: correct cooking practices; CP2: prevention of cross‐contamination; and CP3: correct food storage practices. Statistically significant links were found between food safety knowledge and behaviour as well as between food safety attitudes and demographic factors.Originality/valueThis is the first study to link all aspects of observed consumer food safety practices in the home to food safety knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, psychosocial and demographic factors to identify these CPs.

Food consumption patterns in the Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada: a cross-sectional telephone survey.

BackgroundThe demographics and lifestyles of Canadians are changing, thereby influencing food choices and food preparation in the home. Although different dietary practices are associated with increased risk of foodborne illness, our ability to evaluate food consumption trends and assess risks associated with foodborne illness is limited by lack of data on current eating habits and consumer food safety practices. The objective of this study was to describe, for the first time, the food consumption patterns in a Canadian-based population from a food safety perspective, in order to establish baseline data on actual food intake of individuals.MethodA cross-sectional telephone survey of 2,332 randomly selected residents of Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada (C-EnterNet pilot site) was conducted between November 2005 and March 2006. Food intake was assessed using a 7-day dietary recall method.ResultsCertain food items were consumed more than others among the same food groups, and consumption of many food items varied by gender and age. Specific foods considered high-risk for the transmission of certain enteric pathogens were significantly more likely to be consumed by males (i.e. unpasteurized juice, bean sprouts, and undercooked meat) and elderly individuals (i.e. undercooked eggs). The majority of households prepared and consumed most meals at home, allocating an average of 44 minutes to prepare a meal.ConclusionBaseline data on actual food intake is useful to public health professionals and food safety risk assessors for developing communication messages to consumers and in foodborne outbreak investigations.

Consumers’ perceptions and awareness of food safety practices in Barbados and Trinidad, West Indies – a pilot study

AbstractThe objectives of this pilot study were to determine perception and awareness of food safety practices of consumers in Trinidad and Barbados. A structured questionnaire was self‐administered to 148 respondents. Data were analysed by descriptive and chi‐square analysis. Most (92%) consumers rated having safe food practices as ‘very important’. Only 25.7% heard of the acronym ‘HACCP’ (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point), associated the HACCP approach to safe food preparation (25.7%) and reported it recommendatory in homes (19.6%). More than one‐third (45.6%) felt that up to 20% of food poisoning was associated to the home. Over the last 12 months, 18.2% of consumers and/or family members had experienced food‐borne illness, but no one associated it to the home. More (P &lt; 0.01) consumers in Trinidad than in Barbados were aware of the HACCP, experienced food‐borne illness and allowed pets in the kitchen. This study identified many gaps in proper food safety practices in the homes.

Factors influencing the efficacy of consumer food safety communication

Purpose – The home is the location for a substantial number of cases of food poisoning and improving consumer food safety practices is important. This paper proposes investigating how consumers perceive their own abilities and level of food safety risk, as well as attitudes to different forms of interventions which is a largely unstudied area.