Food Protection Trends - January/February 2015 - 36

PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE

Jeannie Sneed,1* Randall Phebus,2
Diane Duncan-Goldsmith,3
Donka Milke,2 Kevin Sauer,1
Kevin R. Roberts1 and Dallas Johnson4

Food Protection Trends, Vol 35, No. 1, p.36-48
Copyright©2015, International Association for Food Protection
6200 Aurora Ave., Suite 200W, Des Moines, IA 50322-2864

Dept. of Hospitality Management and Dietetics, Kansas
State University, 152 Justin Hall, Manhattan, KS
66506-1403, USA

Dept. of Animal Sciences and Industry, Kansas State
University, 223 Call Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA

Dept. of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management,
Iowa State University, 31 MacKay Hall, Ames, IA
50011-1121, USA (formerly at Kansas State University);

Dept. of Statistics, Kansas State University, Manhattan,
KS 66506-1403, USA

Consumer Food Handling Practices
Lead to Cross-contamination
ABSTRACT
Consumers engage in food handling practices that can
contribute to foodborne illness, and there is interest in
improving those behaviors. The purpose of this study was
to determine the impact of the "Food Safe Families" clean
and separate messages on cross-contamination behaviors
of consumers and to determine the impact of external
safe food handling cues. Participants (n = 123) were
randomly assigned to a control group or to one of two
experimental groups (traditional food safety messages or
Ad Council public service announcements). Experimental
groups were given a defined educational intervention; then
all three groups were videotaped preparing a meal with
raw chicken or ground beef (inoculated with Lactobacillus
casei) and a ready-to-eat fruit salad. About 90% of salads
were contaminated and 24% were highly contaminated,
although levels were lower for the food safety messages
group. Handwashing scores were lower for the control
group than for the other groups. Cloth towels were the
most contaminated contact surface, and towels were
frequently handled by participants. A slight positive impact

relative to the level of cross-contamination observed was
associated with the use of external cues. Cell phone use
was observed in the kitchen and should be studied as a
source of cross-contamination. An educational intervention
had a small impact on some measures, but most
participants in all groups used procedures that resulted in
cross-contamination.

INTRODUCTION
About 9% of all reported foodborne illness outbreaks
occur in private homes, with a median of eight illnesses per
outbreak (15). An earlier analysis indicated that 15% of
outbreaks resulted from food consumed in a private home
(14). For bacterial outbreaks, cross-contamination from raw
ingredients of animal origin, bare hand contact by a food
preparer, and inadequate cleaning of equipment and utensils
were identified as major contamination factors (7).
Consumers have reported food handling practices that
could create cross-contamination in home kitchens (1-3, 5,
8, 16, 19-20, 26). Observations of food handling practices
showed that consumers do not follow cross-contamination

*Author for correspondence: Phone: +1 785.532.5507; Fax: +1 785.532.5522; Email: jsneed@k-state.edu

Food Protection Trends

January/February

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Food Protection Trends - January/February 2015

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