Food Safety is everyone’s responsibility and we all have a role to play in maintaining food safety throughout the food chain.
While the food industry, the foodservice sector and Governments have a primary responsibility to ensure food is safe, once food is purchased the safety of that food also becomes the responsibility of the consumer.

Consumers do have a role to play in food safety to protect themselves and their families from potentially harmful bacteria.

A number of recent studies have concluded that up to 20% of food poisoning incidents (1 in 5) can be attributed to mishandling of food in the home.

Consumer surveys over the last decade consistently report that some of the main principles of food preparation and food safety are poorly understood by consumers. The knowledge and understanding of cross-contamination, food storage temperatures and conditions are key areas where a high proportion of consumers lack training.

In this regard, direct or indirect cross-contamination of cooked or ready-to-eat products by raw products combined with poor storage, have been identified as the major contributing factors of foodborne illness in the home.

Consumer surveys in 1997 showed that many Australians have never received any practical advice about food safety and hygiene. There is more recent evidence that a cultural shift has occurred whereby less food is prepared in the home and less home training may be occurring via the principal household food preparer. Current education in food safety practices are mainly taught through family or by direct experience.

In one study (2005) only 40% of households include children in food preparation. Furthermore when it does occur it was predominantly in households where the respondent was responsible for home duties or aged 35-44 years old. Significant differences in food preparation strategies have also been found between age groups and ethnic background.

As a consequence of these trends consumer education and surveys have become an important feature of the food safety activities of most State health authorities. This is seen as an essential link in maintaining a safe food chain.

Beliefs and Practices

Consumer surveys into food safety knowledge conducted by the Australian Supermarket Institute in 1996/97 showed:

Almost half of all consumers did not wash their hands properly before handling food. Ten seconds or shorter was the most common length of time for hand washing when hand washing was performed. A generally low level of hygiene.

The term “cross-contamination” was not understood by 43 percent of consumers.

Sixty-one percent of consumers nominated takeaway food outlets as the most likely place to get food poisoning, while 4% said home. This perception is in reality the reverse with takeaway outlets being near the bottom of the list at about 5 % and homes around 20%.

Other research from the Meat and Livestock Australia (1998) showed similarly concerning results:

Almost half (42 percent) of Australians defrost their food on the bench top or under running water.

Sixty-five percent of consumers left their chilled/frozen food in the temperature danger zone at the time of purchase, with only some using insulated cooler bags when shopping.

Less than half of all consumers know the correct refrigerator temperature.

In a more recent survey in 2005, 70% of consumers did not know the temperature in their refrigerators.

All these studies clearly point to an urgent need to improve our food hygiene training in the home. The data also suggests that for a majority of Australians they are not likely to be exposed to this training within the family unit. The consumer is a significant weak link in food poisoning prevention and thus will continue to contribute to the food borne illness burden within our community.