Purpose: The objective of this project was to determine if consumers follow food safety guidelines when cooking poultry and eggs.
Methods: Consumers (n = 101) divided between three locations (Manhattan, KS; Kansas City area; Nashville, TN) were observed as they prepared a baked chicken breast, a pan fried ground turkey patty, a fried egg, and scrambled eggs. Out of view of the consumers, observers measured the endpoint temperature for the cooked products within 30 seconds after the consumers indicated they were finished cooking.
Results: Thermometer use while cooking was low in all of the products; only 37% for the chicken breasts, and 22% for the turkey patties, with no thermometer usage for fried or scrambled eggs. Only 77% of the chicken and 69% of the turkey was cooked to a safe temperature (165°F), while 77% of scrambled and 49% of fried eggs reached a safe temperature (160°F). Unfortunately, thermometer use did not insure cooking to the recommended temperature. Safe hand-washing was noted in only 40% of respondents after handling the chicken breast and 44% after handling the ground turkey patty. This decreased to 15% after handling raw eggs for fried eggs, and 17% for scrambled eggs.
Significance: These results show that there is a high prevalence of unsafe behaviors (undercooking and poor hand-washing technique) when cooking poultry and eggs, and a great need for improvement in consumer behavior with poultry and eggs. Consumers also need to be educated on proper thermometer usage in addition to simply using thermometers.