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Food safety

The impact of TV cooking shows and competitions on viewer’s food safety practices

Our current research project is a dive into children’s cooking competitions that are available online, and have been broadcast on television previously. This is the starting point, to really set the scene for what children do under a ‘best case’ scenario, with regard to food safety practices. A related area is the influence that a range of media, such as the more traditional television medium, has on food safety practices of the general public. This blog article by Ruby Chin, our former industry experience intern student from Monash University, uncovers the power of television.


Introduction 

For many years, television media has been a highly potent medium that has the ability to shape the viewer’s beliefs and behaviours. A lot of organisations and businesses have carefully developed different creative ways to project and portray information through mass media in order to influence the viewers perception of social norms, attitudes and individual opinions.   

On that note, popular cooking shows and competitions such as ‘MasterChef’ and ‘Top Chef’ have been a crowd-favourite for many years. These cooking shows or competitions have successfully influenced countless viewers to try their own hand at creating various unique dishes, try out new cooking or food preparation techniques or exploring new tastes from a range of unfamiliar cultures. However, many fail to acknowledge that television cooking shows or competitions also play a role and have a significant impact in shaping the habits and behaviours of their viewers when it comes to proper food safety practices. This article explores how the hygienic habits and food safety practices of celebrity chefs or contestants in TV shows can impact the habits and behaviours of their TV show viewers too. 

Are Food Safety Practices Maintained in TV Shows? 

One of the hidden concerns that are often overlooked in TV cooking shows and competitions is the lack of appropriate food safety practices. Over the years, multiple research and analysis has been done on TV cooking shows and competitions, and researchers have surprisingly found that the celebrity chefs or contestants in TV shows usually fail to adhere and follow the proper recommended food safety and handling practices. This is a quite concerning matter, especially when TV shows and media have been proven to have a major impact and influence on the viewer’s habits and behavioural developments.  

The Problem with Food Safety Practices in TV Shows

An example of a vital food safety practice or step that is oftentimes not seen in TV cooking shows or televisions is correct hand washing practices. Upon taking a closer look at TV cooking shows or competitions, many people would realise that there seems to be an absence of frequent and proper hand washing practices, especially after handling raw meat and poultry products before moving onto the next step in the process of cooking. Hand washing is a major prevention step to reduce the risks of food contamination by pathogenic microorganisms, such as Clostridium botulinum, Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli. Food pathogens like these can have the potential to cause foodborne illnesses or result in food  poisoning when a person ingests the contaminated food or drink. 

Another major point to mention is the importance of maintaining a hygienic environment of the cooking areas. Oftentimes, the sets are cleaned and adequately sanitised before the start of the filming process. These cleaning processes may include cleaning and wiping cooking surfaces, cooking utensils or food equipment. However, these steps are often not shown on the actual TV show that is being shown to their viewers afterwards. Failure to include these clips or steps of proper cleaning of the cooking areas prior to the cooking process may mislead the viewers to think that there is no such need to do so. Nonetheless, this is also another highly crucial step, since regular cleaning and ensuring the cooking area is hygienic greatly helps to eliminate any harmful pathogens to spread around and cause cross contamination of foods and drinks that are being prepared in the same cooking environment. 

Temperature control is also one of the steps in the cooking process that has majorly detrimental effects when not done properly, but yet another practice that is not regularly shown in TV cooking shows and competitions. Careful screening of TV cooking shows and competitions by various researchers have found that the use of food thermometers to measure the internal temperature of food is rarely seen. This is especially important when it comes to cooking meat or poultry products. Ensuring proper and safe internal cooking temperatures of food can help to kill harmful bacteria and other microorganisms, while failure to do so can lead to detrimental effects such as food poisoning and even foodborne disease outbreaks. 

Conclusion

TV cooking shows and competitions are not only a source of entertainment and aspiration for their viewers, but also a medium that can greatly impact their viewer’s habits and behaviours. However, evidence has suggested that there is a lack of proper food safety and handling practices in TV cooking shows and competitions. Therefore, moving forward, producers and other individuals involved in the filming process of TV cooking shows and competitions should be aware of the importance of educating their viewers on appropriate food safety and handling practices. This can be achieved perhaps by including proven and recommended food safety tips and habits as part of their shows instead of omitting them. 

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