Consumers' perceptions about frozen entrees and microwave safety: Results from the FDA/FSIS 2010 Food Safety Survey

Meat and poultry must be cooked to appropriate temperatures to avoid foodborne illnesses. Recently, some consumers became ill from consuming improperly cooked raw, frozen, breaded and pre-browned, stuffed chicken entrees that were improperly prepared in the microwave. These consumers reported that they thought the entrees were pre-cooked and therefore did not follow cooking instructions on the package. Because microwaves vary in wattage and therefore in the time needed to cook foods to a safe temperature, cooking foods in the microwave can be a challenge for consumers. In order to explore consumer understanding of cooking frozen entrees in the microwave, a series of questions about microwave safety were included in the 2010 Food Safety Survey. Data were collected from December 2009 through February 2010. The Food Safety Survey is a nationally representative telephone survey tracking consumers' attitudes and behaviors related to food safety. The questions examined consumers' knowledge of their microwaves' wattage, how often they follow the instructions when microwaving frozen food entrees, and their perceptions of how many frozen food entrees contain precooked meat and poultry. These questions were developed based on findings from a series of eight focus groups conducted prior to the 2010 Food Safety Survey. The focus groups suggested that: 1) Respondents realized that microwaves can vary in wattage, but may not know the wattage of their own microwave; 2) Few believed that frozen entrees contained raw meat or chicken; and 3) Most do not think about safety when microwaving frozen entrees.