| Campylobacter and Salmonella are the leading bacterial agents causing foodborne illness and are commonly found on raw poultry. An expanding body of literature suggests minority populations are at a greater risk for campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis. An interdisciplinary approach was used to identify a novel-unsafe raw poultry handling behavior that may increase minority consumer's risk of foodborne illness. The unsafe behavior was then addressed in a food-safety education campaign to assess the effectiveness of the education materials.;Formative research conducted from January-November 2011 included 9 focus groups conducted with African American, Asian, and Hispanic consumers throughout Philadelphia, PA. Emergent themes were used to modify a pre-existing food safety phone survey that was then disseminated equally (∼25%) among Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Asian consumers. A total of 428 surveys were completed. The survey identified significant differences (p<0.05) such as minorities being more likely to purchase live poultry and unrefrigerated eggs, cook a turkey overnight and prepare offals when compared to Caucasians. A behavior prevalent among all consumers was washing raw poultry, and this was determined as the unsafe poultry handling behavior that would be addressed for all racial and ethnic populations. Washing raw poultry is not recommended by the USDA, but consumers still engage in this behavior that can result in bacterial spray 50-70cm around the site of washing. The development of the food-safety education materials was a collaborative effort with New Mexico State University. Four photonovellas, website, pens, and nine YouTube videos were created for the "Don't Wash Your Chicken!" campaign.;A posttest only pilot-intervention included 4 control and 4 intervention sites where education materials were passively displayed. Researchers collected 264 control and 264 intervention surveys to evaluate the education materials visibility and respondents' behavior change to not wash chicken.;Within the intervention group 39.02% saw the education materials, and this group made significant behavior, knowledge, and self-efficacy improvements to not wash raw poultry. This research demonstrates the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary approach to identify and address a novel-unsafe raw poultry handling behavior that has shown positive behavior. |
