"Texas Tech Study Measures Food Safety in Popular Cooking Shows"

http://today.ttu.edu/2008/09/texas-t...s-food-safety-
in-popular-cooking-shows/

OR http://preview.tinyurl.com/5e867p

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Finger-licking cooking is one thing, but finger-licking cooks?

Written by Norman Martin

Researchers analyzed 49 Food Network episodes airing over a two-
week period.

While the masterful chefs of the highly-popular Food Network cook
up plenty of finger-licking-good food, a new Texas Tech University
study on food safety measures suggests that it’s not a good idea
for some of their stars to actually lick their fingers while
cooking the grub.

These days fewer Americans learn how to cook during childhood or
high school. High schools have scaled back on offering consumer
science or what was traditionally known as home economics.
TV Dinners

Many people learn how to cook by watching these highly popular and
entertaining cooking shows, said Erica Irlbeck, an instructor in
the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications.

Last year researchers set out to determine the scope of the
televised food safety problem by studying Food Networks’ heavy
hitters: 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray, The Essence of Emeril,
Everyday Italian, Paula’s Home Cooking and Semi Homemade Cooking
with Sandra Lee. The Food Network is distributed to more than 85
million households in the United States and is considered the giant
in food programming, ranked number one out of 50 cable channels.

Rating the Shows

Researchers analyzed 49 shows airing over a two-week period and
used 17 different coded categories: six positive and 11 negative.
Positive categories included hand washing, cleaning equipment,
washing fruits and vegetables, adequate refrigeration, and use of a
thermometer.

Negative behaviors included food from unsafe sources, failure to
use a thermometer, use of food from the floor, failure to
refrigerate perishables, failure to wash fruits or vegetables,
inadequately washing equipment, sampling food or licking fingers,
cross contamination of ready-to-eat or raw foods, and touching the
face.

The results weren’t exactly savory with 118 positive food safety
measures and 460 poor food handling incidents. Among the most
noticeable culprits were not washing fruits, vegetables and herbs
properly and a lack of hand washing in general.

These are important behaviors because if they are not followed, you
can become ill, said Mindy Brashears, associate professor and
director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence
at Texas Tech. Many food borne illnesses can be prevented by proper
food handling and that’s why it’s important these popular stars
follow good food safety practices.

Picking Up the Tab

Food borne illnesses are costly. The World Health Organization
estimates major pathogens can create up to $35 billion annually in
medical costs and lost productivity.

We realize these are time-limited entertainment programs and not
documentaries, but some food safety behaviors could be better
incorporated, said Cindy Akers, associate professor and director of
the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Student
Services Center.

For example, at the end of a segment the host could say, ‘We’re
going to take a break now, and I’m going to wash my hands. You
should always wash your hands after handling raw meat.’ Another way
to boost food safety would be to add post-production pop-up
graphics containing pertinent safety information, Akers said.

For the record, 30 Minute Meals and Semi-Homemade Cooking with
Sandra Lee virtually tied for having the most positive behaviors at
the time the programs were aired last year. The worst was Paula’s
Home Cooking, in part for her affinity for licking her fingers more
than 20 times while preparing her down-home favorites. On the other
hand, Paula Deen demonstrated sampling food properly more than any
of the others.

The researchers noted that they were frequently asked ‘who was the
safest or least-safe host on the Food Network.’ Their response,
there’s not really a fair way to name one person as best or worst.
For example, one show had the most positive observations, yet it
also had the second-highest negatives.

Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, (806)
742-2136.