Food Safety in UK Households: The Influence of Concerns Regarding Food Poisoning and Demographics on Compliance with Meat and Poultry Handling Guidelines

Abstract

This study investigated whether concern about food poisoning (e.g., Salmonella and E. coli) influences household compliance with hygiene guidelines for handling raw meat and poultry at home, and how demographic factors affect this compliance. A secondary analysis of the data from the “Food and You 2” survey (wave 6) by the Food Standards Agency, involving 4,893 respondents from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, was conducted. Descriptive statistics, Chi-Square tests, and logistic regression were used to explore relationships between variables. Results showed that 53% of respondents exhibited high compliance with hygiene guidelines. Concern about food poisoning was significantly associated with higher compliance (57% vs. 48%, p<0.001). The logistic regression showed that concerned individuals were 48% more likely to report high compliance. Additionally, age, sex, employment, and being the main food provider were significantly associated with compliance, while marital status and income were not significant predictors. Specifically, increasing the age predicts higher compliance with 18% for each decade, females were 19% more likely to comply than males, employed individuals had 37% higher odds of compliance compared to unemployed, and main food providers were over 2 times as likely to comply as non-regular cooks. The study concludes that food poisoning concerns and demographic factors, particularly age and being the main food providers, play significant roles in predicting compliance with hygiene guidelines. These findings can inform targeted public health interventions to enhance food safety practices, especially among younger populations and less frequent cooks.