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Foodborne illness from poultry may be associated with improper handling that results in cross contamination. Washing of raw poultry is one practice that can lead to cross contamination. Some consumers continue to wash raw poultry after learning that not washing raw poultry is the safe behavior. There is a need to better understand why some consumers continue this practice and identify barriers to them adopting the correct behavior.

This research utilized qualitative, in-depth interviews to understand some consumer's barriers to adopting the behavior of not washing raw poultry. The interview questioning route was iteratively developed and designed to allow both structure and flexibility. Questions were anchored in the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change. Interviews (N = 23) were conducted over Zoom. Thematic analysis identified themes around consumers' resistance to adopting the correct behavior for handling raw poultry.

Results from the thematic analysis indicate that chicken preparation methods were primarily influenced by family. A desire to control the process of preparing food, lack of trust in chicken processing, and the habitual nature of the behavior all contributed to the continuation of washing raw poultry. Over half of the participants (61%) expressed interest in changing behaviors in the future. Needing supporting scientific evidence, and an alternative behavior to replace washing were two key factors to support the development of future public health messaging.

This study investigates the barriers to safe raw poultry handling utilizing in-depth interviews and contributes to the development of more effective public health messaging.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of – and need for – an expanded understanding of cooking (skills and knowledge) to inform research on the connection between cooking and health.

This paper describes a concept of “food agency” and contrasts it with how cooking is commonly conceived in food and nutrition literature. A food agency-based pedagogy and proposals for using it are also introduced.

Cooking is a complex process that may be crucial for making a difference in the contemporary problems of diet-related chronic diseases. There are two interlinked problems with present research on cooking. First, cooking has yet to be adequately conceptualized for the design and evaluation of effective public health and nutrition interventions. The context within which food-related decisions and actions occur has been neglected. Instead, the major focus has been on discrete mechanical tasks. In particular, recipes are relied upon despite no clear evidence that recipes move people from knowledge to action. Second, given the incomplete theorization and definition of this vital everyday practice, intervention designs tend to rely on assumptions over theory. This creates certain forms of tautological reasoning when claims are made about how behavior changes. A comprehensive theory of food agency provides a nuanced understanding of daily food practices and clarifies how to teach cooking skills that are generalizable throughout varied life contexts.

This commentary is of value to academics studying cooking-related behavior and public health practitioners implementing and evaluating cooking interventions.

Consumers of minority race/ethnicity in the US experience greater rates of foodborne illness, including Salmonellosis and Campylobacteriosis. Previous focus group research with minority consumers identified food handling and purchasing practices which might increase their risk for foodborne illness. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether practices identified in focus groups were common among a larger sample of the population.

A survey including focus group-derived, culturally themed questions about food handling was developed and administered. Phone surveys were administered in English, Spanish, and Chinese from September-November of 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Minority consumers were significantly more likely than Caucasian consumers (p < 0.05) to purchase live poultry and to purchase eggs unrefrigerated. Minority consumers were also more likely to report cooking offals and cooking a whole turkey overnight. Washing raw poultry was found to a prevalent behavior (85.7-89.1 percent) among Caucasians as well as minority consumers (95.0-97.9 percent).

This research surveyed consumers in a limited geographic area therefore results may not be generalizable to other geographic areas.

The existence of unique unsafe food handling practices among minority consumers highlights the need for researchers to understand food handling practices of minority consumers in their countries. It also highlights the need to develop culturally appropriate safe food handling messages for immigrant and minority consumers. Additionally there is a need to better advise all consumers not to wash raw poultry.

Students living in university residence halls often have refrigerators for food storage, and are often living alone and handling food for the first time in their lives. Therefore, an investigation of their safe food storage practices is important to help prevent food-borne illness in this population. This research seeks to evaluate the food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices related to food storage and refrigeration among undergraduate students at a university campus.

A cross-sectional study was conducted by administering a questionnaire to undergraduate students (n = 93) living in two residence halls on a university campus.

Many respondents (43.3 percent) were unaware of the maximum temperature a refrigerator should be set at to prevent microbial growth, while 83.7 percent reported ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ checking the temperature of their refrigerator using a thermometer. Many respondents (43.1 percent) incorrectly ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that the smell and appearance of food can be used as an indicator for food safety, and 64.1 percent self-reported often or always using this practice. Respondents that were born outside of Canada had more positive food storage attitudes, while those that identified as Caucasian had higher knowledge scores. A positive correlation was identified between knowledge and attitude scores (r = 0.217) but neither were significantly associated with practice scores.

The study revealed gaps in the knowledge, attitudes and practices of university students living in residence halls related to safe food storage. Hence, there is a need to increase awareness and education in this population on key food storage practices.