US Trends in Food Safety Practices

1
US Trends in Food Safety Practices

• Alan Levy, Ph.D. and Sara Fein, Ph.D.
• Food and Drug Administration
• Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

2
Purpose

• Describe changes in food safety behaviors
• Total population
• Groups defined by demographics

3
Methods

• Data collected 1988, 1993, 1998
• Random digit dial sample of U.S. adults
• Telephone interviews
• Data weighted to Census

4
Consumption Percent who Eat Risky Foods
Percent
Total population
5
Percent Who Do Not Wash Hands After Handling Raw
Food
Percent
Main Meal Cooks
6
Percent Who Do Not Wash Board After Cutting Food
Percent
Main Meal Cooks
7
Percent Who Do Not Refrigerate Leftovers Promptly
Percent
Main Meal Cooks
8
Group Differences

• Groups examined
• Gender
• Age (4 categories)
• Race-ethnicity (4 categories)
• Education (4 categories)

9
Age Differences in Eating Raw Eggs
Percent Who Eat Raw
10
Age Differences in Eating Pink Hamburger
Percent Who Eat Pink
11
Group Differences in Risky Food Consumption

• All groups of all 4 demographic characteristics
  improved the safety of risky food consumption
• Rates of improvement varied among the groups
• The 1993 differences or lack of differences
  between groups were mostly maintained in 1998

12
Age Differences in Handling Meat and Chicken
Score
13
Age Differences in Handling Raw Fish
Score
14
Group Differences in Food Handling Practices

• All groups improved all measures of practices in
  1998 except in 3 instances
• Rates of improvement varied among the groups
• Age and education groups with poorer practices
  improved more

15
Conclusion - Group Differences

• The population movement toward safer behaviors
  encompasses all segments
• The population is becoming more homogeneous wrt
  the safety of food handling
• The population is maintaining differences in
  risky food consumption

16
Areas of special concern

• Differences in safe handling and consumption of
  different foods, especially eggs
• Differences in safety of various food handling
  practices
• Group differences have not diminished for food
  consumption