Women Food Safety Practices from Shopping to Eating in Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the methods used for food storage and preparation in the Turkish household and to determine the domestic knowledge on food hygiene and food safety. A sample of 250 randomly selected, voluntary, married Turkish women participated in the survey. The research data were collected through a questionnaire and face-to-face interviews. The research findings revealed that the great majority of the women purchased meat at the end of shopping, thawed raw meat in the refrigerator, left hot food to cool in the room temperature and did not know the required refrigerator temperature for proper food storage. It was determined that 89.2% of the women deemed hand washing very important, but 43.2% of them did not wash their hands appropriately. Ninety point four percent of the women did not know the definition of cross contamination. The findings proved that some practices of the women changed according to their educational status. Considering the foodborne poisonings, the importance of education provided for women becomes evidently clear.