Attitudes, knowledge and food safety practices of UK consumers

Research has shown that poor hygiene practices by domestic food handlers could be the cause of a substantial amount of foodborne illness. This research compares consumers' attitudes and knowledge about food safety with their actual behavior. The food handling practices of 40 consumers were observed and subsequently each participant answered food safety attitude and knowledge questionnaires. Overall, participants displayed a good level of knowledge about food hygiene practices and a positive attitude towards food safety. However, observation of food preparation revealed a lack of and/or inadequate implementation of a number of hygiene practices. These included: lack of handwashing after handling raw food and before handling ready-to eat food, poor hand-washing technique and inadequate cleaning of surfaces. Discrepancies were revealed between participants stated responses (answers to attitude and knowledge questions) about the above practices and their observed behavior. Differences were particularly apparent for handwashing. Seventy-five percent of participants reported that they would always wash their hands after handling raw foods and yet only 55% made an attempt to practice this behavior at all times. More importantly, no participants washed their hands adequately at every appropriate occasion. The results of this research suggest that although consumers may be familiar with correct food hygiene practices they do not always carry out these practices adequately, if they carry them out at all.