Food Protection Trends - January/February 2015 - 8

PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE

E. Mazengia, C. Fisk, G. Liao, H. Huang
and J. Meschke*

Food Protection Trends, Vol 35, No. 1, p.8-23
Copyright©2015, International Association for Food Protection
6200 Aurora Ave., Suite 200W, Des Moines, IA 50322-2864

University of Washington, Dept. of Environmental and
Occupational Health Sciences, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE,
Suite 2338, Seattle, WA 98105-6099, USA

Direct Observational Study of the Risk of
Cross-contamination during Raw Poultry
Handling: Practices in Private Homes
ABSTRACT
A substantial proportion of foodborne illnesses are
associated with foods prepared in home kitchens. To
determine risk factors that can contribute to the spread
of pathogens in domestic kitchen environments, a
combination study of raw poultry handling by individuals,
using direct observational and questionnaire-based
methods, was conducted. Fifty-six individual households
were included in the study. Notational analysis was used
to transcribe video recorded food handling behaviors into
quantifiable risk factors. Additionally, questionnaires were
administered to ascertain individuals' knowledge of safe
raw poultry handling. Questionnaire responses suggested
that although participating individuals were knowledgeable
about recommended poultry handling practices, observed
poultry handling was frequently inconsistent with
recommended practices. All of the individuals reported on
the questionnaires that they wash their hands before and
after handling raw poultry, but hands were actually washed
properly after handling raw poultry only 12% of the time.
Food handling practices leading to direct and/or indirect

cross-contamination of hands, kitchen utensils, the kitchen
environment, product containers (e.g., seasoning bottles)
and devices (e.g., cell phones) were observed for 100%
of the participating subjects. The results indicate that
cross-contamination events are common during poultry
handling in home kitchens, and that people's knowledge of
proper food handling was not fully translated into practice.
Intervention efforts should strive to align food safety
knowledge with behaviors, focusing particularly on ways
to minimize the risk of cross-contamination during poultry
handling in homes.

INTRODUCTION
Foodborne illnesses continue to be a major public health
burden in the United States (2, 13) and the rest of the
world (16, 43). In the United States, infection with nontyphoidal Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. result in
the majority of hospitalizations and deaths associated with
foodborne bacterial pathogens (35). Despite efforts in the
past fifteen years, the level of salmonellosis reported in the
United States population has not declined, compared with

*Corresponding Author: +1 206.221.5470; Fax: +1 206.543.8123; E-mail jmeschke@uw.edu

Food Protection Trends

January/February

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Food Protection Trends - January/February 2015

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