Reducing foodborne illness requires not only preventing contamination through improved processing and inspection, but also educating consumers to avoid unsafe consumption choices and to prepare food safely to avoid cross-contamination. The 1997 Food Safety Initiative recognizes this with funding for a national media campaign to encourage safe food handling. Educating consumers in turn requires an understanding of which consumers follow food safety recommendations and what factors motivate them. ERS conducts research on what consumers do to protect themselves from foodborne illness, how they perceive the risks of foodborne illness, and what characteristics, attitudes, and Information sources are associated with their behavior.
Research also shows television and magazines are important channels of food safety information.
These findings help food safety educators design and target food safety messages. However, they reported safe refrigerating and cooling practices in lower numbers than other ethnic groups. Proper refrigeration of cold foods and leftovers is essential to prevent any pathogens in food from multiplying to dangerous levels. Thus, providing targeted messages to African-Americans to encourage safe cooling could help reduce foodborne illness in the region. These findings suggest that the impact of food irradiation on public health will be limited unless consumer preferences change, perhaps in response to educational messages about the safety and benefits of food irradiation.