Consumer Hygiene Practices Regarding the Use of Home Refrigerators to Store Meat in the Capital Area of Korea

Food hygiene practices must be maintained from farm to table in order to prevent contamination by microorganisms. This study was conducted to investigate consumer hygiene practices related to the refrigerator storage of meat, including a microbial analysis, monitoring of refrigerator temperatures and consumer surveys of female homeowners in the capital area of Korea. Home refrigerator temperatures were maintained above 5oC in 26 (19.7%) of the 132 houses investigated. The percentage of the refrigerators with a total microbial count over 102 CFU/100 cm2 was 14.4%. No E. coli, Salmonella spp. or Listeria monocytogenes microbes were detected. However, Staphylococcus aureus was detected in 14 houses (10.6%). The only statistically significant difference in hygiene practices between the non-contamination group and contamination group was in the last time of refrigerator cleaning (p