Food safety at home

Consumers nowadays play a critical role in the prevention of food poisoning. For this reason, the present research was planned to collect data on how aware about food safety consumers are. A questionnaire considering food labelling, hygiene, transport, storage, preparation and kitchen hygiene was designed and submitted to consumers (health district ASL TO5). After questionnaire analysis, a training course was prepared to address specific problems. Kitchens of consentient participants were visited and data on hygiene (check-lists, samples from equipment and fridge surfaces), and fridge temperatures were collected. Questionnaires showed a lack of knowledge on correct food storage, handling, and kitchen hygiene. Households visits showed fridge temperatures above 4°C, highly contaminated washing sponges, and the presence of Listeria spp. in a fridge of a high risk consumer. These results evidence the role of consumer training in reducing foodborne diseases incidence

Food safety: correct information for pregnant women

This study was aimed at investigating the knowledge of pregnant women on food safety with particular attention to the effectiveness of the informative material (pamphlet and poster) prepared in a previous study. To this scope, a questionnaire composed by 8 questions (Likert scaled) was used except for one which was a Y/N question. Themes of the questionnaire were: level of concerns on food safety, and knowledge on foodborne diseases (salomonellosis, toxoplasmosis and listeriosis), risk factors and preventive measures. Results indicate that knowledge increased in respect to that of the previous study, but in relation to informative material previously distributed