Comparison of food safety cognitions and self-reported food-handling behaviors with observed food safety behaviors of young adults.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Developing tailored and effective food safety education for young adults is critical given their future roles as caregivers likely to be preparing food for populations who may be at greater risk for foodborne disease (FBD). The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between food safety self-reported food-handling behaviors and cognitions of young adults to observed food-handling behaviors. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Participants were 153 young adults (mean age 20.74+/-1.30 s.d.) attending a major American university. Each prepared a meal under observation in a controlled laboratory setting, permitted researchers to observe their home kitchen and completed an online survey assessing food safety knowledge, behavior and psychosocial measures. Descriptive statistics were generated for participants' self-reported food-handling behaviors, psychosocial characteristics, knowledge, food preparation observations and home kitchen observations. Determinants of compliance with safe food-handling procedures while preparing a meal and home food storage/rotation practices were identified using backward regression models. RESULTS: Participants engaged in less than half of the recommended safe food-handling practices evaluated and correctly answered only two-thirds of the food safety knowledge items. They reported positive food safety beliefs and high food safety self-efficacy. Self-reported compliance with cross-contamination prevention, disinfection procedures and knowledge of groups at greatest risk for FBD were the best measures for predicting compliance with established safe food-handling practices. CONCLUSION: Food safety education directed toward young adults should focus on increasing awareness of FBD and knowledge of proper cross-contamination prevention procedures to help promote better compliance with actual safe food handling.

Rural women's satisfaction and stress as family health care gatekeepers.

Women shoulder much of the responsibility for their families' health care, making women's satisfaction with available services an important issue for their families and for women's personal stress levels. Lack of services and resulting stress may be acute for rural women, the focus of this study. In a state-wide survey, fewer than one-half of rural women were satisfied with the health services available; dissatisfaction was a strong determinant of women's stress over health care issues. Rural women are at risk for a pile-up of stressors that could impede their ability to care for themselves and their families.

The effect of feeding corn molded with Penicillium lanosum to broiler chicks.

Penicillium lanosum was isolated from broiler feed obtained from troughs in a house in which the litter was wet and the chicks were substantially smaller than expected at the time of slaughter. Corn was inoculated with the fungus, incubated for 8 weeks, dried, and incorporated in a broiler ration. The ration was fed to broiler chicks for a period of 2 weeks in order to evaluate toxicity. Experimental chicks developed diarrhea and grew slower than the controls. Gross lesions consisted of swollen kidneys and erosions in the lining of the gizzard. Histologic examination revealed mild toxic nephritis and growth of fungus in and on the surface of the gizzard lining. Penicillium lanosum was isolated from the gizzards of affected birds. Diarrhea but no gizzard lesions occurred in birds feld molded corn which had been treated with ethylene oxide. This finding indicates that this isolate of P. lanosum is both toxigenic and capable of producing gizzard erosion.