Burger Preparation: What Consumers Say and Do in the Home

Authors: Phang, Ho S.¹; Bruhn, Christine M.²

Source: Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 74, Number 10, October 2011 , pp. 1708-1716(9)

Publisher: International Association for Food Protection

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Abstract:

Ground beef has been linked to outbreaks of pathogenic bacteria like Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella. Consumers may be exposed to foodborne illness through unsafe preparation of ground beef. Video footage of 199 volunteers in Northern California preparing hamburgers and salad was analyzed for compliance with U.S. Department of Agriculture recommendations and for violations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Food Code 2009. A questionnaire about consumer attitudes and knowledge about food safety was administered after each filming session. The majority of volunteers, 78%, cooked their ground beef patties to the Food Code 2009 recommended internal temperature of 155°F (ca. 68°C) or above, and 70% cooked to the U.S. Department of Agriculture consumer end-point guideline of 160°F (ca. 71°C), with 22% declaring the burger done when the temperature was below 155°F. Volunteers checked burger doneness with a meat thermometer in 4% of households. Only 13% knew the recommended internal temperature for ground beef. The average hand washing time observed was 8 s; only 7% of the hand washing events met the recommended guideline of 20 s. Potential cross-contamination was common, with an average of 43 events noted per household. Hands were the most commonly observed vehicle of potential cross-contamination. Analysis of food handling behaviors indicates that consumers with and without food safety training exposed themselves to potential foodborne illness even while under video observation. Behaviors that should be targeted by food safety educators are identified.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-10-417

Affiliations: 1: Department of Food Science and Technology, 1 Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA 2: Department of Food Science and Technology, 1 Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA. cmbruhn@ucdavis.edu

Publication date: 2011-10-01

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First published in 1937, the Journal of Food Protection^®, is a refereed monthly publication. Each issue contains scientific research and authoritative review articles reporting on a variety of topics in food science pertaining to food safety and quality. The Journal is internationally recognized as the leading publication in the field of food microbiology with a readership exceeding 11,000 scientists from 70 countries. The Journal of Food Protection^® is indexed in Index Medicus, Current Contents, BIOSIS, PubMed, Medline, and many others.

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Burger Preparation: What Consumers Say and Do in the Home

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