Consumer attitudes and perceptions towards microbial food safety in the domestic kitchen

The domestic Kitchen is an important point of origin for foodborne disease and food safety communication strategies are required to improve food-handling behaviors in the home. A key to the design of effective strategies is an understanding of factors that influence food safety behaviors. Attitudes may influence food safety behaviors and therefore, attitude determination towards food safety in the domestic kitchen is important for development of targeted food safety communication strategies. A questionnaire was administered to consumers (n = 100) representing a cross-section of the population of Cardiff, South Wales. Results showed that attitudes towards implementation of key food safety behaviors including cross contamination, cooking and storage were positive, however, attitudes towards other practices, for example cooling, were negative. Significant correlations (P < 0.05) between specific attitudinal responses and respondent demographics were identified, indicating that targeted strategies may be required for different groups of consumers. Results of this study will be discussed within the context of previous consumer food safety research, optimistic-bias and development of communication strategies designed to raise awareness of food safety issues and bring about behavioral improvement.