title: Food safety in family homes in Melbourne, Australia.
abstract: Poor food handling practices in the home are a likely cause of gastroenteritis. This study examined how often reported practices in Australian homes met public health food safety recommendations. During 1998 in Melbourne, Australia, food handling and food storage questionnaires were completed by an adult member in 524 and 515 families, respectively. Each family consisted of at least two adults and two children. Respondents were surveyed regarding washing of hands, cutting boards, and fresh produce; use of kitchen cloths; egg storage; where cooked foods were cooled; the duration before refrigeration of cooked foods; where food types were positioned in the refrigerator; and the method of thawing chicken. Nearly every household reported handling food in a way that could cause food to become contaminated. Overall, 99.0% of respondents reported some form of mishandling, which encompassed 70.3% who handled food preparation surfaces poorly, 46.6% who did not wash their hands appropriately or in a timely manner, 41.7% who mishandled raw foods, and 70.1% who mishandled cooked foods. Food was inappropriately located in the refrigerator by 81.2%, and chicken was thawed using unsafe means by 76.3% of respondents. People preparing food in the home need to be reminded of the increased risk of disease that can arise from poor food handling practices.
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment at the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne 3004, Australia. teresa.mitakakis@med.monash.edu.au
authors.forename: Teresa Z
authors.initials: TZ
authors.lastname: Mitakakis
authors.forename: Martha I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Sinclair
authors.forename: Christopher K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Fairley
authors.forename: Pamela K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Lightbody
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leder
authors.forename: Margaret E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hellard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003428:Cross Infection; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires