A national Australian food safety telephone survey

A sample of 1,203 randomly selected Australian households participated in a national telephone food safety survey. All respondents were aged 18 years or over, were the main grocery buyers of the household, purchased red meat products at least once a month, and regularly prepared food in the househol d. There were significant gaps observed in the food safety knowledge of man y respondents surveyed. Forty percent of respondents thawed raw meat at roo m temperature, 85% allowed cooked foods to cool at room temperature before refrigerating, and almost 70% of respondents were not aware of the correct refrigeration temperature for storage of perishable food. Almost 25% of res pondents failed to identify that washing hands before handling food and dur ing food preparation was important in reducing the risk of cross-contaminat ion and possible foodborne illness. Seventy-five percent of the respondents recognized that there was a likelihood of foodborne illness occurring in t he home, and 25% of respondents had changed their eating habits because of publicity surrounding food poisoning outbreaks. The findings raise importan t concerns about domestic food handling practices in Australian homes and t he level of food safety knowledge in the community generally.