Content area
Abstract
Poultry has been linked to foodborne illnesses caused by Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. This study reports on observed handling behavior when 120 volunteers prepared chicken and salad in their homes. A food safety attitudes and knowledge questionnaire was administered to volunteers after meal preparation had been video recorded. In the questionnaire, consumers stated that they were knowledgeable about safe-food handling and had heard of people becoming ill from eating chicken. The video recording, however, revealed that personal hygiene was insufficient, with 65% of meal preparers not washing their hands prior to meal preparation, 40% not washing their hands after handling raw chicken, and 45% washing the chicken prior to preparation. Hand-washing duration was less than 20 seconds, and in one-third of the handwashing events, soap was not used. Most people judged thoroughness of cooking by appearance. When chicken temperature was taken, 60% of the cooked chickens registered 165°F or above. However, 39% of households stopped cooking even though the internal temperature of the poultry registered below 165°F. These results suggest that educational messages should focus on thorough washing of hands with soap, not washing chicken, and using a calibrated thermometer to determine doneness. To increase consumer protection, the poultry industry should adopt additional approaches to reduce pathogen levels.