Purpose – Foodborne illnesses are often related to raw and cooked poultry and meat, eggs, and their products. Consumer practices related to these foods have been studied in many countries, however, little comparison has been made among different countries. The purpose of this paper is to characterize consumers’ purchase, storage, handling, and preparation of poultry products and eggs in four European countries: Russia, Estonia, Italy, and Spain. Design/methodology/approach – Approximately 100 selected consumers in each location completed a questionnaire that included sections about poultry products and eggs purchase temperatures and locations, storage locations such as refrigerator, freezer, or cabinet, and preparation such as washing eggs and poultry before cooking, and the use of cutting boards. Findings – Although educating consumers in European countries is common, some food safety aspects may need to be additionally addressed. The results indicated differences in purchase and storage practices of raw eggs. In Russia and Estonia consumers who participated in the study purchased both refrigerated and room temperature eggs whereas in Italy (84 percent) and Spain (87 percent) eggs typically were purchased at room temperature. However, almost all consumers in all countries stored eggs in the refrigerator. In Russia 70 percent of the consumers who participated in the study immediately froze raw meat, poultry, or seafood after purchase; while in other countries about a quarter of the consumers froze the raw meat. Research limitations/implications – This research was limited by the number of respondents in each country that does not allow extrapolation of results. Originality/value – Food preparation practices revealed behavior that supports cross-contamination during cooking, such as washing raw poultry and eggs. A uniform approach to food safety practices related research, such as presented in this study, would help define overlapping critical points in consumer behavior and create educational messages based on the information gathered.

Foodborne illnesses may be related to many food production factors with home practices of consumers playing an important role in food safety. Consumer behavior for handling food leftovers has been studied, however little work on comparisons among countries has been published. The objective of this study was to investigate home food leftover practices of people from North American, South American, and European countries. Surveys were conducted with approximately 100 or more consumers in Argentina, Colombia, the United States, Estonia, Italy, Russia, and Spain. The participants responded to questions related to the length of time different types of food leftovers; such as meat, fresh salads, or restaurant dishes would be kept refrigerated or would be left at room temperature before refrigeration. Researchers also investigated how consumers would determine if the food was still safe for consumption. Potentially risky behaviors were observed in all seven countries. For instance, 55.8% of Estonians, 25% of Russians and 25.8% of Argentinean participants left food out at room temperature for several hours before storing in the refrigerator. Furthermore, 25%–29% of Colombian, Estonian, and Spanish consumers would look, smell, and taste leftovers to determine its probable safety. Correct handling of leftovers is an important aspect of consumer food safety. Although the surveys cannot be representative of all consumers in each country, they do provide an initial overview of comparative practices for handling leftovers among different countries. This provides government and educators with information on potential universal and unique consumer food safety issues related to handling leftover foods among various countries.