Food safety habits in consumers in Neiva Hábitos en seguridad alimentaria de consumidores en Neiva

Abstract

Food preparation, management and consumption habits can determine the levels of risk that a community is exposed to. With this in mind, we proposed to analyze the behavior of consumers in Neiva – Colombia, insofar as their attitudes to food management during purchase, preparation and storage in the home, and once the food leaves the supply chain. The methodology sought to identify the habits, attitudes and aptitudes that most significantly affect food safety, through a study that allowed a diagnosis of the attitude of consumers in such factors and the critical points during food purchase, storage and preparation in homes in Neiva. To do this, we adapted an instrument designed by Kansas State University, that was applied at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013 to 113 homes in Neiva. Using these results, we undertook a descriptive statistical analysis to determine aspects where there are safety and quality deficiencies, which could be the cause of foodborne diseases (FBD). For the second phase, we proposed pilot microbiological sampling on inanimate and animate surfaces, identified in the previous stage as critical, and as such corroborate the findings of the microbiological analysis