James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., Food-borne illnesses caused by improper food handling in the home is a major food safety concern. To determine what consumers know about food safety, and food handling practices, a survey was developed, piloted and mailed to 1,003 randomly selected residences throughout the state of Idaho (return rate = 52%). Food safety knowledge and food safety practice items that were part of the survey included: food preparation (cooking raw eggs), food storage (leaving poultry out for long periods of time), environmental concerns (pesticide residues), and food preservation (canning green beans). Results indicate that younger consumers and those with less education knew less about food safety and safe food handling. Information regarding these results will help nutrition educators target food safety education to populations that are at higher risk for having a food-borne illness because of lack of knowledge and poor food handling practices.
