title: Food Safety Knowledge and Practices among Older Adults: Identifying Causes and Solutions for Risky Behaviors.
abstract: Adults aged 60 years and older are more likely than younger adults to experience complications, hospitalization, and death because of food-borne infections. Recognizing this risk, we conducted a nationally representative survey (n = 1,140) to characterize older adults' food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices as well as the demographic characteristics of older adults with risky food handling practices. The survey was conducted using a Web-enabled panel. We found that although older adults consider themselves to be knowledgeable about food safety, many are not following recommended food safety practices. Areas for improvement include the following: reheating deli meats to steaming hot, not eating store-bought deli salads, cooking eggs properly, monitoring refrigerator temperature using a thermometer, using a food thermometer to check doneness of meat/poultry/egg dishes, and storing leftovers properly. The survey results also suggest that food safety education targeting older adults is needed and that such initiatives should emphasize practices to prevent listeriosis, a potentially fatal illness among older adults. Our findings suggest that, in particular, men, individuals with higher incomes, and college-educated individuals would benefit from food safety education.
authors.affiliation: RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA. scc@rti.org
authors.forename: Sheryl C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Cates
authors.forename: Katherine M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kosa
authors.forename: Shawn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karns
authors.forename: Sandria L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Godwin
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Speller-Henderson
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ann Draughon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005516:Food Microbiology; D059022:Food Safety; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012309:Risk-Taking; D017678:Sex Distribution