Assessment of Food Safety Practices of Older Adults (> 60 years) in a Model Kitchen

Introduction:  The domestic kitchen is an important point of origin for foodborne disease; safe food-handling/storage behaviors are needed to reduce sporadic incidence. European data suggest foodborne disease associated with older adults has increased (by up to 80%) over the last decade. Although older adults are more susceptible to foodborne disease, data suggest knowledge and attitudes towards food-safety practices are inadequate, which may influence implementation of unsafe food-handling/storage practices.

Purpose:  Determine food-safety practices of older adults and link observed behaviors with potential routes of actual microbiological contamination.

Methods:  Older adults (> 60 years, n=100) prepared a set meal in a model domestic kitchen, handling foods commonly associated with pathogen contamination and using high-risk practices. Food-safety practices were observed using ceiling-mounted digital cameras and recorded using a predetermined checklist. Prior to food preparation, food-contact surfaces were cleaned according to a validated protocol; post food preparation, surfaces were immediately sampled to determine aerobic colony count (ACC), Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus aureuscontamination.

Results:  Cumulatively, observational findings indicate that older adults frequently implement unsafe food-handling practices that can be linked to microbial contamination of kitchen surfaces. Eighty-four percent of older adults failed to attempt/adequately implement hand-washing/drying immediately after handling raw chicken. Kitchen surfaces most frequently touched with potentially contaminated hands were tap handles (79%) and refrigerator-door handles (65%); these surfaces were found to be contaminated with < 2.08 x 10⁶ CFU ACC, < 4.75 x 10⁵ CFU Enterobacteriaceae and < 2.59 x 10⁵ CFU  S. aureus, suggesting potentially contaminated hands were the source of contamination. Chopping boards/knives were inadequately washed/dried on 82-85% of occasions; this resulted in microbial counts of < 1.73 x 10^{6 CFU} ACC, < 1.82 x 10⁴ CFU Enterobacteriaceae and < 1.75 x 10³ CFU S.aureus. Indicators of safe food-storage efficacy (such as failing to cover ready-to-eat food for storage) suggested widespread malpractices; findings will be discussed in the context of microbial risk.

Significance:  Findings from this study indicate that a considerable proportion of older adults implement unsafe food-handling practices which can potentially result in cross-contamination of pathogens and increase foodborne disease risk. This link suggests a need for targeted risk communication and has implications for future consumer food-safety education initiatives.