In-Home Food Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Year 3 Observational Study 

Executive Summary 

USDA’s Year 3 Observational Study 

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) contracted 

with RTI International (RTI) and its subcontractor, North Carolina State University (NCSU), to conduct 

meal preparation studies to evaluate consumer food handling behaviors in a test kitchen. The research 

team is conducting five separate iterations of the meal preparation study. Each iteration addresses a 

specific consumer behavior and assesses the effectiveness of a related behavior change intervention. 

The meal preparation studies are part of a larger 5-year annual study that also includes focus groups 

(two iterations) and web surveys (two iterations). This report describes the results of the third iteration 

of the meal preparation study that examined participants’ use of a food thermometer to check the 

doneness of raw stuffed chicken breasts prepared from a frozen state and also examined the 

effectiveness of a related educational intervention about the importance of using a food thermometer 

to check the doneness of not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) frozen foods. NRTE foods are foods that have not 

been fully cooked during processing and require cooking by the consumer for safety. USDA requires 

these foods have a label deeming them as not fully cooked and that cooking is required to ensure safety. 

However, these foods may appear to be fully cooked, causing some consumers not to cook before 

consuming and resulting in foodborne illness. 

RTI and NCSU conducted the study in a test kitchen facility located in Raleigh, North Carolina from April 

29, 2019 to September 5, 2019. Before preparing the meal, participants were told the study was behind 

schedule and were asked to stay in the waiting area for 10 minutes. During this time, a series of news 

stories was played on a continuous loop on a monitor. For the treatment group, the loop included a 

1:47-minute segment about safely preparing frozen NRTE foods. The food safety news segment 

communicated that although frozen NRTE foods may appear ready to eat, they are not fully cooked, and 

the endpoint temperature should be checked with a food thermometer to ensure safety. The series of 

news stories for the control group was similar, but omitted the food safety segment. Thus, the purpose 

of this experimental intervention was to evaluate the potential impact of proactive media placements 

USDA achieves throughout the year during seasonal outreach. These segments are usually presented to 

the public in the middle of newscasts and when people are preoccupied with other tasks. 

In each of three identical test kitchens, eight cameras recorded participants preparing the meal from 

beginning to end. Participants were observed while cooking NRTE frozen, breaded stuffed chicken 

breasts and preparing a salad made from NRTE frozen corn, canned black beans and fresh produce. The 

main outcome variables were (1) whether participants used a food thermometer to determine when the 

NRTE products were done; and (2) whether participants adhered to other recommended food safety 

practices throughout the meal preparation. Participants participated in a post-observation interview to 

collect information on their usual food preparation practices. A total of 403 people participated in the 

study (197 control, 206 treatment). 
In-Home Food Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Year 3 Observational Study 

Key Findings 

o The rate of thermometer use was high among both the control (77%) and treatment (88%) 

groups. Among participants using a thermometer, most checked the temperature of both 

chicken breasts. 

– Nearly all participants reported reading instructions on the package before preparing the 

product; the package displayed validated cooking instructions provided by the manufacturer 

that instructed consumers to use a thermometer to check for doneness. 

– About 70% of participants did not have experience preparing stuffed chicken breasts from a 

frozen state, which may have led some participants to read the manufacturer’s cooking 

instructions. 

– In the post-observation interviews, among thermometer owners, nearly half of participants 

said they do not typically use a thermometer when cooking NRTE chicken products at home; 

thus, for some participants, their behavior in the test kitchen differed from their typical 

practices. 

Table 3-1. Observed Preparation of NRTE Chicken Product 

Behavior 

Control 

(n = 196) 

Treatment 

(n = 205) p valuea 

Participant used thermometer to check doneness 77% (150) 88% (180) .5538 

Among participants who used thermometer 

(n = 330), number of chicken breasts checked 

n = 150 n = 180 .5045 

One 15% (23) 13% (23) 

Two 85% (127) 87% (157) 

Method used to determine doneness .0213 

Only used thermometer 76% (148) 85% (174) 

Only used visual cue (i.e., cut open to look inside) 4% (7) <1% (1) 

Only used touch (e.g., firmness) 3% (6) <1% (1) 

Only used time 16% (31) 10% (21) 

Observed using more than one method, including 

thermometer 

1% (2) 3% (6) 

Observed using more than one method, not 

including thermometer 

1% (2) 1% (2) 

a We calculated p value significance testing using a chi-squared test for the difference between the 

control and treatment groups for each behavior. Differences are statistically significant if the p value 

is ≤.05. 

o The most common method to prepare the frozen NRTE corn for the corn and black bean salad 

was stovetop (58%), followed by microwave (38%). Three percent of participants did not cook 

the corn. 

– Participants reported relying on time (37%) and visual indicators such as steam (31%) to 

determine the doneness of the corn. 
■ □ 

In-Home Food Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Year 3 Observational Study 

– Few participants used a food thermometer to check the doneness of the corn (1% control, 

3% treatment). 

o Consistent with Years 1 and 2, handwashing compliance was low. 

– About 72% of participants attempted to wash their hands before beginning meal 

preparation. Among handwashing attempts, 5% of attempts contained all steps of correct 

handwashing and were considered successful according to the Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention’s (CDC) criteria. 

– During meal preparation, handwashing was attempted only 5% of the time that it was 

required (e.g., after touching the NRTE chicken product). There were no successful attempts 

that followed the CDC criteria. 

– The most common reason for unsuccessful handwashing attempts was not rubbing hands 

with soap for 20 seconds. 

Figure 3-1. Handwashing Compliance before Onset of Meal Preparation Number of Handwashing Attempts160 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

61 

7 9 6 8 6 8 

149 

61 

140 

43 43 

Attempted Wet Added Rubbed for Rinsed Dried with 

hands soap 20 seconds with water clean, oneuse towel 

Last Successful Step 

Control Treatment 
■ □ 

In-Home Food Safety Behaviors and Consumer Education: Year 3 Observational Study 

Figure 3-2. Handwashing Compliance during Meal Preparation 

17 

7 7 

0 0 0 

30 

16 

14 

1 1 1 

0 

5 

10 

15 

20 

25 

30 

35 

Rinsed 

with water 

Dried with 

clean, oneuse towel 

Number of Handwashing Attempts 

Attempted Wet Added Rubbed for 

hands soap 20 seconds 

Last Successful Attempt 

Control Treatment 

The results of this study suggest that the food safety segment on safe cooking of frozen NRTE products 

played as part of a series of news stories shown in the waiting room did not significantly affect 

thermometer use. 

– About 40% of the treatment group participants recalled the food safety news segment; thus, 

not all participants received exposure, which is not surprising given the more passive nature 

of the intervention. 

– Among participants who recalled the food safety news segment, about half said it 

influenced their actions in the kitchen in that they used a thermometer to check the 

doneness of the NRTE chicken product, which may have served to reinforce what they read 

on the product packaging. Thus, exposure to the news segment may have led to the slightly 

higher rate of thermometer use among the treatment group compared with the control 

group, although the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant.