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 household. There were significant gaps observed in the food safety knowledge of many respondents surveyed. Forty percent of respondents thawed raw meat at room 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 respondents failed to identify that washing hands before handling food and during food preparation was important in reducing the risk of cross-contamination and possible foodborne illness. Seventy-five percent of the respondents recognized that there was a likelihood of foodborne illness occurring in the home, and 25% of respondents had changed their eating habits because of publicity surrounding food poisoning outbreaks. The findings raise important concerns about domestic food handling practices in Australian homes and the level of food safety knowledge in the community generally.