Food storage in household refrigerators: Exploring the role of psychosocial factors to improve food risk communication

Although consumers claim to know how to manage food properly, they unconsciously engage in unsafe practices, which calls for tailored communication interventions to enhance health-related behaviours. The present study focuses on the storage of food in household refrigerators, as the poor organisation of the appliance can promote the growth of microorganisms and cross-contamination, posing a risk to consumer health. This work was aimed (i) to assess Italian consumers' refrigerator safety knowledge, perceptions and past behaviour, and (ii) to verify which psychosocial factors drive the implementation of the behaviour, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and its extensions (Model of Goal-directed Behaviour MGB - desire, positive/negative anticipated emotions PAEs/NAEs). Data were collected via an online survey (N = 242) conducted on smartphone app. Even though the respondents were found to have a good attitude and be willing to engage in the target behaviour, they revealed inadequate refrigerator organisation. Perceived behavioural control (PBC) was found to have a strong influence on intentions, together with desire, which was found to mediate the effects of attitudes, positive anticipated emotions, and PBC on intentions. Results suggest that communication interventions to enhance the correct storage of food in the refrigerator should specifically address the positioning of eggs, and messages should leverage PBC, desire, and PAEs.