USDA Study: Meal Preparation Experiment on Raw Stuffed Chicken Breasts
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) has released survey findings based on the third iteration of a five-year annual study.
Meal Preparation Experiment Related to Not-Ready-to-Eat (NRTE) Frozen Foods (Observational Study)
The third iteration of FSIS’ meal preparation observational studies examined participants’ use of a food thermometer to check the doneness of raw stuffed chicken breasts prepared from frozen and also examined the effectiveness of a related educational intervention about the importance of using a food thermometer to check the doneness of NRTE frozen foods.
USDA FSIS contracted with RTI International and its subcontractor, North Carolina State University (NCSU), to conduct meal preparation studies to evaluate consumer food handling behaviors in a test kitchen. The research team is conducting five separate iterations of the meal preparation study. Each iteration addresses a specific consumer behavior and assesses the effectiveness of a related behavior change intervention. The meal preparation studies are part of a larger 5-year annual study that also includes focus groups (two iterations) and web surveys (two iterations). This report describes the results of the third iteration of the meal preparation study that examined participants’ use of a food thermometer to check the doneness of raw stuffed chicken breasts prepared from a frozen state and also examined the effectiveness of a related educational intervention about the importance of using a food thermometer to check the doneness of not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) frozen foods. NRTE foods are foods that have not been fully cooked during processing and require cooking by the consumer for safety. USDA requires these foods have a label deeming them as not fully cooked and that cooking is required to ensure safety. However, these foods may appear to be fully cooked, causing some consumers not to cook before consuming and resulting in foodborne illness.
RTI and NCSU conducted the study in a test kitchen facility located in Raleigh, NC, from April 29, 2019 to September 5, 2019. Before preparing the meal, participants were told the study was behind schedule and were asked to stay in the waiting area for 10 minutes. During this time, a series of news stories was played on a continuous loop on a monitor. For the treatment group, the loop included a 1:47-minute segment about safely preparing frozen NRTE foods. The food safety news segment communicated that although frozen NRTE foods may appear ready to eat, they are not fully cooked, and the endpoint temperature should be checked with a food thermometer to ensure safety. The series of news stories for the control group was similar, but omitted the food safety segment. Thus, the purpose of this experimental intervention was to evaluate the potential impact of proactive media placements USDA achieves throughout the year during seasonal outreach. These segments are usually presented to the public in the middle of newscasts and when people are preoccupied with other tasks.
In each of three identical test kitchens, eight cameras recorded participants preparing the meal from beginning to end. Participants were observed while cooking NRTE frozen, breaded stuffed chicken breasts, and preparing a salad made from NRTE frozen corn, canned black beans, and fresh produce. The main outcome variables were (1) whether participants used a food thermometer to determine when the NRTE products were done; and (2) whether participants adhered to other recommended food safety practices throughout the meal preparation. Participants participated in a post-observation interview to collect information on their usual food preparation practices. A total of 403 people participated in the study (197 control, 206 treatment).
Key Findings
The results of this study suggest that the food safety segment on safe cooking of frozen NRTE products played as part of a series of news stories shown in the waiting room did not significantly affect thermometer use.