Evaluation of safe food-handling instructions on raw meat and poultry products

Every year in the United States, millions of people become ill, thousands of people die, and substantial economic costs are incurred from foodborne diseases. As a measure to prevent foodborne diseases, since July 1994, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has required that safe food-handling labels be placed on retail packages of raw or partially cooked meat and poultry products. Through selected states' Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) interviews, survey data were collected to determine the proportion of adults aware of the label and adults who reported changing their raw meat-handling practices because of the label. Fifty-one percent of the 14,262 respondents reported that they had seen the label. Of these, 79% remembered reading the label, and 37% of persons who reported that they had seen and read the label reported changing their raw meat preparation methods because of the label. Women were more likely than men to have read the label, as were persons who are at least 30 years of age compared to younger adults (P < 0.05). Both label awareness and risky food-handling behaviors increased with education and income, suggesting that safe food-handling labels have limited influence on consumer practices. Our results also suggest that the labels might be more effective in discouraging cross-contamination than in promoting thorough cooking practices. We suggest that the label is only one component among many food safety education programs that are needed to inform consumers about proper food-handling and preparation practices and to motivate persons who have risky food-handling and preparation behaviors to change these behaviors.