The disparity between self-reported and observed food safety behavior: A case involving consumers from rural China

Self-Reported Food Handling Behaviors of U.S. Consumers While Grilling Poultry and Meat

Every year, 48 million people in the United States are affected by foodborne illnesses. Twenty-five percent of reported foodborne illnesses are due to unsafe food behaviors in the home. Consumers are grilling more frequently throughout the year; however, little is known about their food handling practices when doing so. Therefore, it is important to investigate the food safety practices of consumers when using an outdoor grill to prepare meat and poultry. A nationwide web survey of consumers who grill outdoors (n = 1024) was conducted to approximate the percentage of consumers following recommended food handling practices while grilling. Results showed that there was low adherence to not washing meat/poultry, using separate or clean utensils after flipping or turning the meat or poultry on the grill, or using a thermometer to determine doneness. Sixty-three percent of respondents washed meat or poultry before grilling. Only 22% reported washing utensils after turning or moving the poultry or meat on the grill, which can cause potential cross- or re-contamination. Consumers used many techniques to determine the doneness of meat/poultry, but only 25.6% used a thermometer. The results differed by some demographic characteristics. Women and respondents who grilled poultry versus meat were more likely to follow safe food handling practices. This survey indicates that food safety educators should focus strongly on cross- or re-contamination and thermometer use when designing food safety content for the grilling population.

Combating foodborne disease through household food handling behavior improvement: A comparison between education and price interventions

Foodborne disease cases are increasingly occurring in home kitchens because of improper food handling behavior. Human factors are considered major determinants of such behavior, although economic factors, which have attracted little attention, may also be important influencers. Taking the service time of kitchen towels as an example, we construct a theoretical model to analyze food handling behavior under an economic framework and empirically explore its economic determinants. Empirically, we use a randomized controlled trial (RCT) coupled with pre- and postsurveys in rural China. The RCT intervention includes information with tips for proper kitchen towel use and in-kind subsidies of one, two, or three packs of kitchen towels, which is regarded as a price intervention. We find that information alone and information plus one pack of towels are not enough to stimulate behavior improvement, whereas information plus two or three packs is sufficient. This implies that the quantity of kitchen towels used increases only as the towel price drops below a certain threshold. As an early attempt, we indicate that food handling behavior is economically driven, suggesting that a well-designed policy should combine educational campaigns and appropriate economic incentives to improve such behavior to reduce the risk of foodborne disease.

Socio-Demographic Factors, Behaviors, Motivations, and Attitudes in Food Waste Management of Romanian Households

(1) Background: Food waste (FW) in Romania is 70 Kg/capita/year, while 70% of food waste comes from public catering, retail services, and households (over 50%-47 million tons). The present study investigates the socio-demographic factors, behaviors, motivations, and attitudes related to food waste management in Romanian households. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using an online questionnaire via the Google Forms platform from 15 April 2023 to 15 May 2023. The questionnaire was designed to assess various aspects, such as some socio-demographic information (age, sex, occupation, area of residence, study level, household members number, children <18 years of age); the personal involvement and frequency of food purchases and homemade food cooking; the main sources that generate food waste; the motivation and frequency with which food waste occurs; the level of awareness regarding the impact of food waste; the respondents' intentions regarding sustainable behaviors and practices for food management; the level of information and familiarity of the respondents with the notions of validity and how these may influence their food consumption decisions. (3) Results: The results show that FW incidence is occasionally (42%), very rarely (43.33%), frequently (15%), and no food waste was reported by 2.66% of respondents. The 35-44 age category records the highest FW frequency, followed by 18-24. The most wasted are homemade food (29.67%), bread and bakery products (27.00%), and fruits and vegetables (14.33%). High involvement in purchasing and buying food following a previously established list reduces FW frequency. The same is valid for high daily involvement in food and homemade cooking. High interest in the FW problem and its perception as a waste of money leads to diminishing it, while guilty feelings increase the FW level (37.50% to 73.33%). (4) Conclusions: The present study shows that household food waste management is a multifactorial process that involves numerous socio-demographic, behavioral, and emotional aspects. Extensive data analysis supports our results, revealing deep self-reported information details and confirming its complex approach.

What motivates food workers to adhere with WHO guidelines to combat the COVID-19? A social cognitive theory perspective

Background

COVID-19 has become a public health emergency and pandemic of global concern, and the hundreds of millions of foodborne illnesses that occur each year also wreak havoc on human lives, society and the economy. Promoting workers in food service establishments to adhere to the hygiene practices in the WHO guidelines is a two-birds-one-stone strategy in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and limiting the occurrence of foodborne illness. The aim of this study was to determine the drivers that motivate workers to adhere to hygiene practices based on social cognitive theory.

Methods

The cross-sectional survey targeting food workers using face-to-face interviews was conducted from July to September 2022. Stratified random sampling and convenience sampling were employed to locate survey sites and respondents, respectively. The survey uses a credible questionnaire evaluated by multiple reliability and validity measures. Binary logistic regression was employed to identify significant determinants of adherence to WHO-initiated hygiene practices.

Results

A total of 900 workers were interviewed and 609 valid questionnaires were received. The study showed that the average correct rate of knowledge about hygiene practices was only 51.09%, that perceived non-adherence to hygiene practices was most likely to result in lower customer satisfaction and the spread of COVID-19, and that only about 11.7% of the workers always adhered to hygiene practices. Three of the cognitive dimensions in the personal factors, self-efficacy, risk perception, and knowledge, had significant positive effects on adherence practices. Among the demographic variables, there were significant differences in adherence practices differing by income level and place of residence.

Conclusion

It was found that workers' knowledge of the WHO-initiated hygiene practices is insufficient and that the frequency of adherence to hygiene practices is poor and require improvement. The significant drivers and effects of demographic variables provide evidence-based guidance to identify priority intervention information and populations to improve worker hygiene practices.

Beef Handling Practices Among Consumers in the U.S. Virgin Islands

U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) imports more than 95% of its food. Transportation limitations throughout the territory's supply chain can make temperature control of protein foods challenging for consumers. This study aimed to characterize the beef handling practices used by consumers in USVI to determine any educational needs. Printed and online surveys (n = 620 total) were disseminated in USVI through extension agents and local media sources. Three hundred and thirty-four consumers completed a 30-question food handling questionnaire on consumption patterns and food handling from purchasing to their kitchen. Frequencies and Pearson chi-square tests of independence were performed. Beef ranked second among the different meat types consumed, 92% of consumers bought beef from grocery stores, and 55% removed beef from shelves immediately after entering the store. When shopping, 59.1% of respondents always checked the use-by/freeze-by dates of beef, 46.3% always separated beef from other foods, but only 27.5% always used insulated bags. Eighty-three percent of consumers returned home within 1 h of shopping, 92% took less than 30 min to store groceries in either a freezer or refrigerator (98%) and during power outages, 45.1% maintained cold temperatures of beef. Seventy-two percent of consumers washed their hands for more than 10 s, but 33% of those from households with a vulnerable person did not use soap to wash their hands and dried them with reusable towels. When cooking, 44.6% of consumers thawed beef within the temperature danger zone, 80.1% did not check the temperature of beef for doneness, and 34 respondents cooked hamburgers below 160°F. Future consumer food safety education initiatives in the USVI should address hand hygiene among food preparers in homes with vulnerable persons, temperature control practices by promoting the use of insulated bags, safe meat thawing techniques, and the use of thermometers during cooking.

Determinants of Consumers' Behavior in Reducing Pesticide Residues in Vegetables and Fruits, Northern Thailand

Pesticide residues in vegetables in northern Thailand exceed the maximum residue limits established by the European Union. Therefore, improved knowledge and behavior in reducing pesticide residues in vegetables and fruits (VF) would reduce the risk of exposure to pesticides. This study aims to investigate the contributing factors of consumers' behavior in reducing pesticide residues in VF. The differences in knowledge, attitude, and behavior in reducing pesticide residues in VF between consumers living in rural and urban communities of Chiang Mai, Thailand were also investigated. The cross-sectional study was carried out during August and October 2021 with 456 participants. Data was collected from participants using a Google form questionnaire. The results indicated that pesticide-free was the top-ranked consideration for VF purchasing. Linear regression analysis found that factors associated with consumers' behavior in reducing pesticide residues in VF were total knowledge scores (Beta (β) ± standard error (SE.) = 1.15 ± 0.18, 95%CI = 0.79, 1.51), total attitude scores (β ± SE. = 1.30 ± 0.49, 95%CI = 3.87, 10.40), having co-morbidity (β ± SE. = 3.2 ± 1.37, 95%CI = 0.52, 5.90), type of VF purchasing (β ± SE. = 1.98 ± 0.57, 95%CI = 0.85, 3.11), frequency of VF purchasing (β ± SE. = 3.81 ± 1.18, 95%CI = 1.49, 6.13), price of VF products (β ± SE. = -2.23 ± 1.13, 95%CI = -4.45, -0.02), and getting information from the broadcasting tower in the village (β ± SE. = 7.13 ± 1.66, 95%CI = 0.32, 2.27).