What Surveys Say about Food Handling in the Home and at Retail Presented by Sheryl Cates RTI International Presented at The 94 th Annual International Association for Food Protection Meeting Lake Buena Vista, FL July 8 11, 2007 3040 Cornwallis Road P.O. Box 12194 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Phone 919-541-6810 Fax 919-541-6683 e-mail scc@rti.org RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute
Overview Consumers Awareness and behavioral compliance Gap between knowledge and practice Characteristics of consumers with risky practices Food service workers Self-reported preparation practices Factors impacting safe food handling Foodborne illness risk factors 2
Recent Research on U.S. Consumer Food Safety Practices Safe Food Handling: American Attitudes and Behavior Survey (Partnership for Food Safety Education, 2004) RTI/TSU/KSU Survey of Consumer Storage Practices for RTE Foods (Cates et al., FPT, 2007; Kosa et al. JFP, 2007; Kosa et al. JFP, 2007) Survey on Produce Safety (Li-Cohen and Bruhn, JFP, 2002) Meta-analysis on food safety knowledge and practices (Patil, Cates, Morales, JFP, 2005) Review of food safety studies (Redmond and Griffith, JFP, 2003) 3
4 Clean
Awareness and Behavioral Compliance for Clean Messages (I) Message Thoroughly wash & sanitize surfaces used for raw meat, poultry, or seafood before using for fresh fruits & vegetables Wash hands with warm water & soap for at least 20 seconds after handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs Wash fresh fruits & vegetables under cool running tap water Seen/ Heard Always Do Usually Do Gap 94% 76% 14% 18 85% 65% 19% 20 80% 61% 24% 19 Source: Partnership for Food Safety Education, 2004. 5
Awareness and Behavioral Compliance for Clean Messages (II) Message Wash hands with warm water & soap for at least 20 seconds before handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs Wash fruits & vegetables just before preparing or eating Scrub firm produce, such as melons & cucumbers with clean produce brush Seen/ Heard Always Do Usually Do Gap 74% 53% 21% 21 71% 49% 26% 22 49% 26% 17% 23 Source: Partnership for Food Safety Education, 2004. 6
Preparation of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Fruit or Vegetable Do Not Wash % of Consumers* Rub with Hands Scrub with Brush Wash under Running Water Apple 4 22 6 86 Whole carrot 2 8 17 74 Whole broccoli 2 5 1 79 Head or leaf lettuce 4 6 <1 88 Whole melon 36 5 4 35 Strawberries 2 6 1 88 *Respondents could select multiple responses Source: Li-Cohen and Bruhn, JFP, 2002. 7
8 Separate
Awareness and Behavioral Compliance for Separate Messages (I) Message When at home, store fresh fruits & vegetables separate from raw meat, poultry, & seafood Never place cooked food on plate that has previously held raw meat, poultry, or seafood Wash cutting boards, utensils, & countertops with warm water & soap after preparing each food Seen/ Heard Always Do Usually Do Gap 92% 77% 16% 15 91% 73% 9% 18 94% 67% 19% 27 Source: Partnership for Food Safety Education, 2004. 9
Awareness and Behavioral Compliance for Separate Messages (II) Message When shopping, keep fresh fruits & vegetables separate from raw meat, poultry, & seafood Use one cutting board for fresh fruits & vegetables and separate one for raw meat, poultry, & seafood Store raw meat, poultry, or seafood on bottom shelf of refrigerator Seen/ Heard Always Do Usually Do Gap 78% 53% 23% 25 71% 47% 15% 24 46% 33% 18% 13 Source: Partnership for Food Safety Education, 2004. 10
11 Cook
Awareness and Behavioral Compliance for Cook Messages (I) Message When cooking in microwave, make sure foods are heated thoroughly Cook eggs until yolk and whites are not runny Bring sauces, soups, & gravy to rolling boil when heating Seen/ Heard Always Do Usually Do Gap 87% 65% 24% 22 70% 51% 16% 19 65% 48% 26% 17 Source: Partnership for Food Safety Education, 2004. 12
Awareness and Behavioral Compliance for Cook Messages (II) Message Use food thermometer for checking internal temperature of meat & poultry when cooking To prevent listeriosis in at-risk populations, thoroughly heat all ready-to-serve meats such as lunch meats & hot dogs Seen/ Heard Always Do Usually Do Gap 78% 31% 18% 47 35% 29% 17% 6 Source: Partnership for Food Safety Education, 2004. 13
14 Chill
Awareness and Behavioral Compliance for Chill Messages Message Seen/ Heard Always Do Usually Do Gap Maintain refrigerator at 33 40 F 64% 56% 23% 8 Defrost frozen foods in refrigerator, cold water, or microwave Use refrigerated leftovers within 3 4 days Discard perishable foods left at room temperature for more than 2 hours 89% 53% 28% 36 78% 43% 30% 35 71% 38% 25% 33 Use refrigerator thermometer 57% 35% 12% 22 Source: Partnership for Food Safety Education, 2004. 15
Ownership and Use of Refrigerator Thermometers Have refrigerator thermometer 11% Yes Refrigerator temperature (using study-provided thermometer) Unsafe temperature 28% Source: Kosa et al., JFP, 2007. No 89% Safe temperature ( 40 F) 72% 16
Compliance with Recommended Storage Time Guidelines for RTE Foods (I) Product Storage Time for Open Package ( x days) Stored for Recommended Time or Less Precut fresh fruit 5 91% Bagged salads 5 87% Frankfurters 7 87% Precut fresh vegetables 5 70% Vacuum-packed luncheon meats 5 57% Source: Cates et al., FPT, 2007. 17
Compliance with Recommended Storage Time Guidelines for RTE Foods (II) Product Storage Time (Combined Unopened & Opened) ( x days) Stored for Recommended Time or Less Smoked seafood 14 92% Cooked crustaceans 4 72% Deli salads 5 64% Freshly sliced deli meats 5 50% Soft cheeses 7 40% Source: Cates et al., FPT, 2007. 18
Characteristics of Consumers Who Are More Likely to Consume Risky Foods: Meta Analysis Findings Raw or Undercooked Food Demographic Category Ground Beef Eggs Shellfish Milk Gender Male NE Race/ethnicity Age Education White Hispanic Asian Black 18 29 30 54 55+ <= HS > HS Metro Status Metro Nonmetro NE=Not evaluated. Source: Patil, Cates, Morales, JFP, 2005. 19
Characteristics of Consumers Who Are More Likely to Engage in Risky Food Handling Practices Young adults (ages 18 29) Males Individuals with more than a high school education Individuals with relatively higher incomes For seniors, individuals who live alone/are not married Some regional differences 20
Key Findings Studies are based on surveys of reported practices, which often overstate actual behavior There is a gap between what consumers know and what they do when cooking at home Consumers lack consistency in following recommended practices Consumers have improved their safe handling practices, especially for clean and separate, but the job is not done yet! 21
Areas for Improvement Handling of fresh produce Using a food thermometer, especially for small cuts of meat and poultry Messages related to chilling foods refrigerator thermometer use, proper defrosting, safe storage of foods Prevention practices for listeriosis among at-risk populations 22
Recent Research on U.S. Food Service Food Safety Practices Research conducted by CDC s Environmental Health Specialists Network (EHS-Net) FoodNet Population Survey (Green et al., IJHEH, 2005) Focus groups with food workers and managers (Green and Selman, FPT, 2005) Observation study on food hand washing practices (Green et al., JFP, 2007) FDA Report on the Occurrence of Foodborne Illness Risk Factors (FDA, 2004) 23
Self-Reported Food Preparation Practices 60% did not always wear gloves when touching RTE food 23% did not always wash their hands between handling raw meat and RTE food 53% did not use a thermometer to check for doneness of meat and poultry 5% worked while sick with vomiting or diarrhea Source: FoodNet Population Survey, Green et al., IJHEH, 2005. 24
Factors Associated with Safer Food Handling Workers who cooked reported changing their gloves more often than workers who did not cook Older workers and managers reported washing their hands more often than younger workers and nonmanagers Workers in chain restaurants more frequently reported using thermometers than workers in independently-owned restaurants Source: FoodNet Population Survey, Green et al., IJHEH, 2005. 25
FDA Report on Occurrence of Foodborne Illness Risk Factors: Areas to Improve Date marking of open containers of commerciallyprocessed RTE, potentially hazardous foods Holding potentially hazardous foods at 41 F or below Proper, adequate handwashing Prevention of hand contamination Surfaces and utensils cleaned/sanitized Source: FDA, 2004. 26
Factors Impacting Safe Food Preparation Practices: Focus Group Findings Time pressure/high volume of business Structural environment, equipment, resources Management/coworker emphasis Worker characteristics Negative consequences Education and training Restaurant procedures Glove and sanitizer use Source: Green et al., FPT, 2005. 27
Factors Related to Appropriate Handwashing: Findings from an Observation Study Handwashing More Likely to Occur With food preparation activities compared to other activities (e.g., handling dirty equipment) except putting on gloves Workers provided with food safety training Multiple hand sinks Hand sink in workers sight Handwashing Less Likely to Occur Workers were busy Gloves worn at point at which handwashing should occur Source: Green et al., JFP, 2007. 28
Key Findings Barriers exist to following recommended food handling practices Improvements needed Proper holding/time and temperature control Handwashing Employee training should use a risk-based approach 29
Questions? Sheryl C. Cates, RTI International scc@rti.org 30