Use of Focus Groups to Identify Food Safety Risks for Older Adults in the U.S.

Older adults are vulnerable to foodborne illness; however, many do not follow safe food handling guidelines that would reduce their risk of infection. Virtual focus groups were used to explore older adults' food handling and consumption practices and to understand how to apply the Health Belief Model for food safety research with respect to older adults. Thirty-nine adults between the ages of 56 and 80 participated in the study.

Consumer Awareness of the Message Not To Wash Raw Poultry, Current Practices, and Barriers to Following That Message.

Abstract: In the United States, an estimated 47.8 million cases of foodborne illness occur each year. Raw poultry is the most common single commodity food associated with foodborne illness.

Prevalence of Pathogens and Indicator Organisms in Home Kitchens and Correlation with Unsafe Food Handling Practices and Conditions.

Despite education efforts, consumers often practice unsafe food handling and storage behaviors. Little is known about how these unsafe practices contribute to contamination of the home kitchen with foodborne pathogens. In addition, only a limited number of studies have examined the role of the kitchen as a reservoir for pathogens.

Development of a modified gentamicin protection assay to investigate the interaction between Campylobacter jejuni and Acanthamoeba castellanii ATCC 30010.

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the leading causes of diarrheal illness worldwide. It is persistent in the environment and on poultry despite its microaerophilic nature and sensitivity to dessication and pH. Studies have demonstrated that C.

Development and Piloting of a Food Safety Audit Tool for the Domestic Environment.

Research suggests that consumers often mishandle food in the home based on survey and observation studies. There is a need for a standardized tool for researchers to objectively evaluate the prevalence and identify the nature of food safety risks in the domestic environment. An audit tool was developed to measure compliance with recommended sanitation, refrigeration and food storage conditions in the domestic kitchen.

Foodborne illness incidence rates and food safety risks for populations of low socioeconomic status and minority race/ethnicity: a review of the literature.

While foodborne illness is not traditionally tracked by race, ethnicity or income, analyses of reported cases have found increased rates of some foodborne illnesses among minority racial/ethnic populations. In some cases (Listeria, Yersinia) increased rates are due to unique food consumption patterns, in other cases (Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter) it is unclear why this health disparity exists. Research on safe food handling knowledge and behaviors among low income and minority consumers suggest that there may be a need to target safe food handling messages to these vulnerable populations.

The need for additional training for nutritional management of diabetes.

The purpose of this study was to investigate nurses' and nursing students'knowledge and perceived role in assisting patients with the nutritional management of diabetes. Three focus groups were conducted and the results were used to modify a previously developed survey regarding the nutritional management of diabetes. The survey was administered via an online survey tool and completed by 231 nurses and students.

Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 survival in soil and translocation into leeks (Allium porrum) as influenced by an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus intraradices).

A study was conducted to determine the influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on Salmonella and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) in autoclaved soil and translocation into leek plants. Six-week-old leek plants (with [Myc+] or without [Myc-] AM fungi) were inoculated with composite suspensions of Salmonella or EHEC at ca. 8.

Identification of unique food handling practices that could represent food safety risks for minority consumers.

Foodborne illness caused by Salmonella and Campylobacter is a concern for consumers, and there is evidence that minority racial-ethnic populations experience greater rates of illness because of these pathogens. The limited body of research concerning food safety knowledge and practices among minority consumers has focused more on general food safety knowledge than on culturally specific food handling practices. The purpose of the research reported here was to explore food handling behaviors of minority racial-ethnic consumers through in-depth discussions in focus group settings.

Beneficial effects of a combined navigator/promotora approach for Hispanic women diagnosed with breast abnormalities.

Background: Patient navigation (PN) is an emerging strategy to overcome barriers to cancer care. We evaluated the efficacy of PN in improving time of key events in cancer care, including positive screening tests, definitive diagnosis, initiation of therapy, and completion of initial therapy.

Methods: We evaluated PN in a prospective observational study of predominantly poor Hispanic women with an abnormal breast cancer screening or untreated biopsy proven breast cancer (control = 200, intervention = 260).

Identification of Cj1051c as a major determinant for the restriction barrier of Campylobacter jejuni strain NCTC11168.

Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of human diarrheal illness in the world, and research on it has benefitted greatly by the completion of several genome sequences and the development of molecular biology tools. However, many hurdles remain for a full understanding of this unique bacterial pathogen. One of the most commonly used strains for genetic work with C.

Treatment of raw poultry with nonthermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma to reduce Campylobacter jejuni and Salmonella enterica.

Nonthermal plasma has been shown to be effective in reducing pathogens on the surface of a range of fresh produce products. The research presented here investigated the effectiveness of nonthermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma on Salmonella enterica and Campylobacter jejuni inoculated onto the surface of boneless skinless chicken breast and chicken thigh with skin. Chicken samples were inoculated with antibiotic-resistant strains of S.

Retail food safety risks for populations of different races, ethnicities, and income levels.

Research has found that populations with low socioeconomic status (SES) and minority populations have greater access to small corner markets and less access to supermarkets than high-SES and Caucasian populations. This represents a significant difference in the farm-to-fork continuum that these populations experience. This research examined whether differential retail access to foods results in different food safety risks at the retail level for consumers with different demographics.

Use of geographic information systems technology to track critical health code violations in retail facilities available to populations of different socioeconomic status and demographics.

Research shows that community socioeconomic status (SES) predicts, based on food service types available, whether a population has access to healthy food. It is not known, however, if a relationship exists between SES and risk for foodborne illness (FBI) at the community level. Geographic information systems (GIS) give researchers the ability to pinpoint health indicators to specific geographic locations and detect resulting environmental gradients.

Microbial quality of food available to populations of differing socioeconomic status.

Background: Low SES has been shown to be linked to poorer-quality diets, decreased consumption of fresh produce, and an increased reliance on small retail stores.

Purpose: The objective of this research was to determine if there is a difference in the microbial quality and potential safety of food available to low-SES versus high-SES populations at the retail level.

Methods: Aerobic plate count (APC); yeast and mold counts (Y & M); and total coliforms were determined in ready-to-eat (RTE) greens, pre-cut watermelon, broccoli, strawberries, cucumbers, milk, and orange juice and compared among products purchased in stores in low- versus those purchased in high-SES neighborhoods between June 2005 and September 2006.