TY - JOUR AB - Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to determine how well cooking shows promote safe food handling via TV and to suggest their use for providing good hygiene and good cooking practices examples for consumers. Design/methodology/approach– Principal component analysis was applied for the multivariate statistical analysis of the cooking shows, the components being: personal hygiene, cross-contamination, cooking and storing practices and risk communication. Data were collected via a questionnaire special designed for the purpose of the study. The positive attributes were converted into numbers using a nine-point Likert scale. This conversion enabled ranking of the cooking shows as a function of the total results obtained and considering the best show as the one with the maximum score attained. Findings– Evaluation of cooking practices by food safety professionals highlighted the most frequent safety errors and poor practices that are disseminated by the TV shows. Practical implications– While the repetition of good food handling and cooking practices risks antagonizing viewers, an increase in occasional emphasis of good hygiene would be of benefit to domestic viewers and potentially improve food safety practices among the public. Originality/value– This is the first study that gives an European perspective on presentation of safety practices during food handling and preparation in a range of TV cooking shows as it examines 19 such shows broadcasted in six European countries over three months. Adherence to food safety standards and introduction of a star rating system for safety practices in TV cooking shows is proposed. VL - 116 IS - 10 SN - 0007-070X DO - 10.1108/BFJ-12-2013-0367 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-12-2013-0367 AU - Borda Daniela AU - R. Thomas Miles AU - Langsrud Solveig AU - Rychli Kathrin AU - Jordan Kieran AU - van der Roest Joop AU - Ioana Nicolau Anca PY - 2014 Y1 - 2014/01/01 TI - Food safety practices in European TV cooking shows T2 - British Food Journal PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 1652 EP - 1666 Y2 - 2024/04/19 ER -