“We wanted to know what effect an educational intervention would have on getting people to stop washing poultry before cooking, and what effect any resulting change in behavior might have on reducing contamination in the kitchen,” says Ellen Shumaker, corresponding author of the study and an extension associate at North Carolina State University. “We also wanted to get a better idea of how, if at all, washing poultry actually led to increased contamination in the kitchen.”
06 Apr 2022
Impact of a food safety intervention on consumer poultry washing
In a study aimed at assessing the impact of washing poultry on kitchen contamination, researchers found that more than a quarter of study participants contaminated salad with raw poultry – including many study participants who did not wash the poultry.
In a study aimed at assessing the impact of washing poultry on kitchen contamination, researchers found that more than a quarter of study participants contaminated salad with raw poultry – including many study participants who did not wash the poultry. The study highlights the importance of hand-washing and cleaning and sanitizing the kitchen in order to reduce the risk of foodborne illness when cooking at home.
Washing raw poultry is not recommended, due to concerns about inadvertently contaminating other foods and surfaces – and increasing the risk of foodborne illness.
In the materials and methods it is important to highlight:
- The researchers recruited 300 home cooks who said they washed poultry before cooking it.
- The researchers sent food safety information to 142 of the study participants via email, outlining risk-reduction efforts – including the recommendation to not wash raw poultry during food preparation.
- The remaining 158 study participants did not receive the education intervention.
- All 300 study participants were then invited to test kitchens equipped with video cameras that filmed meal preparation.
- Participants were asked to cook chicken thighs and prepare a salad.
- After preparing the chicken thighs, but before putting the chicken in the oven, participants were called out of the kitchen to conduct a short interview.
- Participants were then sent back into the kitchen to cook the chicken thighs, prepare the salad, and clean the kitchen as they
TO CONTINUE READING REGISTER IT IS COMPLETELY FREE
Access to articles in PDF
Keep up to date with our newsletters
Receive the magazine for free in digital version
REGISTRATION
ACCESS
YOUR ACCOUNT
LOGIN
Lost your password?
