Consumer research regarding people at higher risk of food poisoning

When asked about their sources of food safety information, many respondents said they didn’t look for information about food safety but they did, however, often look for information on food preparation and cooking instructions which often contain food safety advice and messages.

“I certainly don't look online for anything like that and I don't recall seeing anything online, but I think a lot of it is kind of common sense. You know you wash your hands if you're going to be touching food. You know you don't use the same knife all day long, put it away to get washed once you've used it.” Older Adult ABC1

“I'd be more inclined for posters and something that I'm going to see in the passing, but I don't think I would actively go out and look for information. But if there's information there with a fact in it, I'm one of the people that pick up facts and walk around them forever. So that would work best for me, I think.” Immunocompromised

“I'd rely on what I grew up knowing.” Immunocompromised

A few older adults held the view that food safety and concern about food safety was overstated. They tended to refer back to old times when less attention was paid to this subject and yet, in their opinions, no more people experienced food poisoning than do so currently.

“Are we susceptible to these illnesses simply because we're being too clean. Because when you go back to when I was a kid, I don't think I came home for playing, I didn't come home and wash my hands and probably the same stuff was chopped up with the same knife. Everything was done the same, and I cannot recall ever having severe food poisoning. So, you just wonder, is it because now we're taking all these efforts to try and avoid it, and our body can’t reject it. It's like the antibiotic situation. If you take them on a regular basis, they don't have the same effect. So is it like that now because we're becoming too clean and too hygienic?” Older Adult ABC1

“But that's another thing that makes you wonder, because you see, when you go back many years ago, there wasn't a sell by date, use-by date. It was a case that you went by smell. If it smelt okay, it was okay and 9 times out of 10, it would have been okay.” Older Adult ABC1

When pressed to give some sources of information, respondents commonly cited unofficial and informal sources. Word of mouth from friends and family played a significant role in shaping understanding and behaviour. Some respondents (even those in their 60s) would call their mum to check what she does. This can lead to following outdated and unsafe practices that are handed down to following generations.

“The defrosting, like leaving it in water, I always do that. Just let it sit there but then I have to look and see how long do you leave it, you know what I mean? What's a good time? I used to heat the water. You know what I mean? Like, put it in some hot water. That's my mother's favourite thing she used to do and it worked back then, so I stick with it. You know what I mean?” General Population ABC1

“I see my son doing that now and I'm like, where did he get this from? And it must have been me. You know what I mean?” General Population ABC1

“I was quite fortunate. My wife was a great cook and she taught me well. So, basically, I've just, you know...followed all the things that I've seen, you see cookery programmes on and if you're careful and you cook it well, it's fine. To me, you're very unlucky if you catch food poisoning.” Older Adult C2DE

“I forgot to add that although I do all these Google searches, I’ll be honest, I ask my mum a lot. She worked in the Glasgow College, just, like, got a lot of, kind of, experience with handling food. She’s worked in kitchens before. So I’ll be honest, I ask my mum a lot of questions about, is it okay to eat this, if it smells okay, should I, you know, freeze it, can I eat it...like, it’s been a day...like, I ask my mum a lot of questions. I think I've learnt most from my mum, I’ll be honest.” Carer

“I guess growing up, you know, you're always told, this is how you do things, and it's drummed into your head. Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands.” Immunocompromised

“So for me some of it’s just been family, so people that deal with it all the time have given me advice. If I'm not sure, then I’ve googled it, if it’s something I'm not familiar with. So...yeah, internet or people.” Carer

Cooking guidelines on food packaging are a relied on and trusted source of information for many. Recipes and cooking instructions are often sought online.

“Very careful to follow cooking guidelines and weights and stuff like that. Especially, you know, I very rarely have seafood these days, but everything's fine. I haven't managed to kill anybody yet.” General Population C2DE

“I quite often look up recipes on maybe the BBC Good Food Guide. I use stuff off that and I would maybe expect to see it coming up on there.” General Population C2DE

“Most packaging is the first thing you're looking at, if you're cooking it, it gives you how long you'll cook it for now. So I think, well I do anyhow. Most things I cook, if it's in a package, I'll look to see what they recommend the correct way to cook that cut. Obviously, some people eating a steak, people like rare, medium or well done, so these are all these things.” Older Adult C2DE

“I think it's just picked up a degree of common sense and when you look at recipes now, they never used to have, but they do have when after you've handled chicken, wash your hands for example. So you get it, you get it through recipes or on the or on the back of a packet if you've got stir fry for example.” Immunocompromised

There is some evidence in the data to suggest that whatever instructions or advice people seek some will always put their personal interpretation on it.

“I'm cooking a big roast in the oven, I'll really read instructions for the whatever time per kilo. I always put it in an extra 10, 15 minutes just to make sure that it is properly cooked and just slightly above the temperature that it says.” General Population C2DE

Respondents also relied on Google searches and anecdotal information when seeking guidance on food safety. AI was a commonly mentioned source of support with ChatGPT and Copilot mentioned frequently. Google searches often led respondents to Gemini solutions but they referred simply to Google.

“And then you've got Google. Google is the best one. You can find out whether it's all true. But as usual, you don't, to me, you don't really think about these things until you're hit with food poisoning.” Older Adult C2DE

“Usually when you search, AI comes up first and then you can read it and think, and if you just keep scrolling, the first website that comes up is usually NHS and then Food Standards Scotland or something like that. So you can just cross check what you've read.” Immunocompromised

Other media sources included social media, television, and newspapers.

While AI is commonly used it is not always immediately trusted. Most respondents said they would verify the information given to them. Most trusted sources were “calling mum”.

“It's [AI] okay for a starting point. You have to be discerning about what it spits out sometimes, because it can go wrong. I always get to double check it a lot of the time and it'll when it comes back it'll go I'm really sorry. So I do get to double check a lot of the time. I just ask it to recheck it.” General Population ABC1

Some respondents reported that they have lost trust in advice that continually changes.

“I think a lot of social media, television and papers, but sometimes one time they'll tell you this is good for you, the next time it won't be, this is not good for you and you think, who's telling the truth?” Older Adults ABC1

A small number of respondents reported using NHS websites for advice on what they should eat but this was related to their health primarily and not food safety. A few mentioned Food Standards Agency as being a trusted source but none used it to get information about food poisoning.  

“AI, it comes up with a lot of different things, which I know can be, kind of, biased, so I tend to look at a few...I mean, I don't say that I would use, like, Food Standards Agency or anything, but I guess that’s linked to my last job, which wasn’t to do with food standards or anything, but we just dealt with that. So I knew that they were there if I needed to, but I tend to just do, like, a random Google search and just see what comes up and then just research from there and then ask people, is this accurate, is this what you've experienced.” Carer

Trusted sources mentioned included government sources and NHS.

“The only thing I've had was a link to do with through diabetes, which comes out of Dundee Hospital and you can have, they have a diabetes group there and they send out leaflets on e-mail and things like that with my stuff.” Immunocompromised

On the occasions that food advice is sought, enquiries are often about instructions on how to cook. When respondents did seek advice relating to food safety, their enquiries most commonly focused on practical, task based issues. These included how long food should be cooked for, appropriate oven temperatures, whether chicken can be safely cooked from frozen, guidance on reheating leftovers, and whether food that is past its use by date can still be eaten.

“Thawing’s always a big issue. My mum and I have long conversations about that.” General Population ABC1

One respondent mentioned that it would have been useful for his doctor to outline his increased vulnerability to food poisoning now that he was immunocompromised.