Temperature profile and hygiene in household refrigerators in Belgrade, Serbia and their relation to consumers food safety knowledge and characteristics of the refrigerators

Worldwide, epidemiological data indicate that households are the most commonly reported setting related to foodborne outbreaks. Improper domestic food handling, cooking and storing represent critical steps in assuring the food safety. With the aim to evaluate consumers food safety knowledge, practices, and temperature distribution among household refrigerators we conducted a study among 120 households in Belgrade (Republic of Serbia). In examined households, the individuals responsible for food purchasing and storage at their homes, showed significant gaps in food safety knowledge. Temperature distributions within the refrigerators and the variability between households were of major concern. The vast majority of refrigerators (82.5%) operated at temperatures above 5 °C. Households with children showed significantly higher average temperatures (p < 0.05). Similarly, refrigerators older than ten years were operating at higher temperatures (p < 0.05). Moreover, the hygienic status of a subset of 42 household refrigerators was assessed by total viable counts (TVC), total coliform counts (TCC) and total yeast and mould count. TVC screening showed results of up to 8.4 log10 CFU/cm2, indicating unsatisfactory hygienic status of internal refrigerator surfaces. These findings underpin the need for improving hygienic practices and raising the awareness of consumers towards the maintenance of cold chain during food storage at home.