Safe Food Handling Knowledge, Perceptions and Self-Reported Practices of Greek Consumers

Introduction: A substantial proportion of foodborne illness is associated with foods prepared in households. Primary understanding of how foods are handled in private homes comes mostly from questionnaire based studies and observational studies.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine Greek consumers’ perceptions and knowledge of safe food handling practices. More specifically, their attitudes, opinions, and self-reported practices were studied.

Methods: Data were collected from a total of 400 consumers living in Greece, through the use of a self-administered online survey. The questionnaire consisted of 26 items, 4 positive and 5 negative statements, scored from 1 to 5 according to Likert scale, grouped into 3 subscales for perceptions of “separate”, “chill” and “clean”. Furthermore 2 close-ended questions (type yes/no), 4 questions that are related to self- reported food handling practices and 11 demographic questions.

Results: The most commonly known bacteria that cause food related illness according to respondents’ knowledge is Salmonella (99.7%), followed by E. coli (73,9%) and Listeria (58,4%). Knowledge and awareness of safe food handling practices increases at higher education level, while no significant differences were found of those who had experienced food-borne illness in the past 12 months versus those who had not. The prevalence of behaviors, perceptions and practices did not vary by age, sex and working status.

Significance: Understanding consumers’ food safety practices is likely to reduce the risk and incidence of foodborne illness. Moreover, information obtained from consumers can be used to shape educational programs, determine where food safety educational efforts would be most effective and the needed content of the messages.