THE MANAGEMENT OF THE DOMESTIC REFRIGERATION: HYGIENIC AND SANITARY CHARACTERISTICS OF REFRIGERATORS FROM NORTHEN AND CENTRAL ITALY

This study aimed to provide information on the consumer management of refrigerated food. N° 469 interviews were carried out and the results obtained were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis and further processed with the Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Cluster Analysis. Five homogeneous groups were obtained. In each of them a significant number of refrigerators (60) were tested to assess the temperature and the microbiological status (TVC, Enterobacteriaceae, Salmonella spp. and Listeria spp.). Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. were not recovered; Listeria innocua was recovered (3.3%). Regarding the TVC values, the 30% of the tested refrigerators was classified as not appropriate (28.3%) or not acceptable (1.7%). Consumer education should be focused in order to reduce foodborne disease. Only safety-conscious consumers can become active partners within the food safety chain.