Food Protection Trends - December 2008 - (Page 915)

equate hand washing practices like those observed in this study have been observed worldwide. Videotapes of food handling practices in 40 Australian households revealed that nearly half of those observed did not wash their hands with soap nor did they wash their hands at all after handling raw meat (17). Among adults in the United Kingdom, 58 percent did not wash their hands after handling raw meat or poultry (27). Videotaped observation of primary food preparers in American households revealed that one-fifth did not wash their hands after handling raw meat or poultry and that time spent washing hands was significantly less than recommended (3). Poor hand hygiene extends beyond failure to wash after handling raw foods of animal origin. An observational study of secondary level school children found that only 58 percent of females and 48 percent of males washed their hands after using the bathroom (16). Perhaps more shocking, a recent news report indicated that only 65 percent of physicians at a major medical center in the United States complied with hand hygiene guidelines (13). The findings of this cross-sectional study must be considered in light of its limitations. The sample was limited to a small number of self-selected young adults. Also, the direct observation of participants may have encouraged hand washing. Nonetheless, the observed inadequate hand hygiene before and during food preparation and the discrepancy between reported and observed behaviors highlights the need to improve both knowledge and practice of recommended hand washing techniques in young adults. When developing informational messages that teach young adults about food safety and hand washing, health professionals should focus efforts on the hand washing problem areas identified by this study. First, young adults report better hand washing behaviors than they are observed practicing. This discrepancy should be addressed, since young adults may falsely believe they are engaging in safe food handling practices (i.e., washing their hands more frequently) when in fact they overestimate their practice of hygienic behaviors and are actually at increased risk for contaminating food during food preparation. Second, young adults fail to engage in appropriate hand washing at all suitable times during food preparation. Third, young adults do not follow the recommended hand washing guidelines of using soap and rubbing their hands together for 20 seconds under running water. Fourth, it appears that young adults may be aware that they should wash their hands before beginning food preparation and after handling raw poultry, but they are unaware of the importance of hand washing after handling unwashed produce and following common behaviors (e.g., answering a cell phone, touching the face) that occur frequently during food preparation. Hand washing education efforts focused on specific problem areas have the potential to reduce the foodborne disease risk of this population. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was funded by the US Department of Agriculture, National Food Safety Initiative, Grant No. 2003–51110–01736. REFERENCES 1. Altekruse, S. F., D. Street, S. Fein, and A. Levy. 1996. Consumer knowledge of foodborne microbial hazards and food-handling practices. J. Food Prot. 59:287–294. 2. Altekruse, S., S. Yang, B. Timbo, and F. Angulo. 1999. A multi-state survey of consumer food-handling and food-consumption practices. Am. J. Prev. Med. 16:216–221. 3. Anderson, J. B., T. A. Shuster, K. E. Hansen, A. S. Levy, and A. Volk. 2004. A camera’s view of consumer food-handling behaviors. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 104:186–91. 4. Bean, N. H., J. S. Goulding, C. Lao, and F. J. Angula. 1996. Surveillance for foodborne disease outbreaks— United States, 1988–1992. Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 45:1–55. 5. Berk, R. A. 1986.A consumer’s guide to setting performance standards on criterion referenced tests. Rev. Educ. Res. 56:137–172. 6. Bryan, F. 1988. Risks of practices, procedures, and processes that lead to outbreaks of foodborne diseases. J. Food Prot. 51:663–673. 7. Byrd-Bredbenner, C., J. Maurer, V. Wheatley, E. Cottone, and M. Clancy. 2007. Observed food safety behaviors and skills of young adults. Brit. Food J. 109:519–530. 8. Byrd-Bredbenner, C., J. Maurer, V. Wheatley, D. Schaffner, C. Bruhn, and L. Blalock. 2007. Food safety self-reported behaviors and cognitions of young adults: Results of a national study. J. Food Prot. 70:1917–1926. 9. Byrd-Bredbenner, C., V. Wheatley, D. Schaffner, C. Bruhn, L. Blalock, and J. Maurer. 2007. Development and implementation of a food safety knowledge instrument. J. Food Sci. Ed. 6:46–55. 10. Byrd-Bredbenner, C., V. Wheatley, D. Schaffner, C. Bruhn, L. Blalock, and J. Maurer. 2007. Development of food safety psychosocial questionnaires for young adults. J. Food Sci. Ed. 6:30–37. 11. Coscarelli, W., and S. Shrock. 2002. The two most useful approaches to estimating criterion-referenced test reliability in a single test administration. Performance Improvement Quarterly 15:74–85. 12. Davich, J. School’s out, work’s in. Northwest Indiana News. July 23, 2003, 2002. 13. Dubner, S., and S. Levitt. 2006. Selling Soap, p. 22. New York Times Magazine. New York. 14. Fein, S. B., C.-T. Lin, and A. S. Levy. 1995. Foodborne illness: perceptions, experience, and preventive behaviors in the United States. J. Food Prot. 58:1405–1411. 15. Food Safety and Inspection Service, and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1998. FDA: Consumers are changing. Food Safety Educator 3:4. 16. Guinan, M. E., M. McGuckin-Guinan, and A. Sevareid. 1997.Who washes hands after using the bathroom? Am. J. Infect. Control 25:424–5. 17. Jay, L., D. Comar, and L. Govenlock. 1999. A video study of Australian domestic food-handling practices. J. Food Prot. 62:1285–1296. 18. Klontz, K.C., B.B. Timbo, S.B. Fein, and A.S. Levy. 1995. Prevalence of selected food consumption and preparation behaviors associated with increased risks of foodborne disease. J. Food Prot. 58:927–930. 19. Knabel, S. 1995. Foodborne illness: Role of home food handling practices. Scientific status summary. Food Technol. 49:119–131. 20. Livingston, S. A. 1972. Criterionreferenced applications of classical test theory. J. Ed. Measurement 9:13–26. DECEMBER 2008 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 915

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - December 2008

Food Protection Trends - December 2008 Contents Sustaining Members Perspectives from Your President Commentary from the Executive Director Observed Hand Washing Behaviors of Young Adults during Food Preparation Adoption of Interventions to Improve Food Safety at Meat and Poultry Processing Plants in the United States Call for Awards – IAFP 2009 Affiliate Officers IAFP Committee, PDG, Task Force and Affiliate Council Mission Statements New Members What’s Happening in Food Safety Industry Products Coming Events Index to Volume 28 Advertising Index IAFP Financial Report Journal of Food Protection Table of Contents Audiovisual Library Order Form Booklet Order Form Membership Application

Food Protection Trends - December 2008

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