Introduction: Unwholesome foods may cause infections and/or poisonings, which result not only in medical problems but also in covering the costs of medical treatment. Research studies have determined three factors that play a key role in preventing food-related infections and/or poisonings in one’s home. They are knowledge, attitude and food handling practice. In order for consumers to manage and prevent health risks they must abide by the basic hygiene principles in their homes, i.e. maintaining hygiene, separating foods, ensuring proper heat treatment of the food, storing food at the right temperature, and using wholesome water and raw (fresh) foods. Purpose: To determine the consumers’ knowledge of ensuring food safety, their handling of specific foods, their attitude towards ensuring food safety, and the sanitary conditions in the consumers’ kitchens. Methods: The knowledge of consumers was examined with a survey questionnaire that was filled in by 380 consumers. The consumers were observed while preparing specific foods using an observation checklist. Eight consumers older than 65 and eight consumers younger than 35 who have small children were observed. The sanitary conditions in the consumers’ kitchens were examined using hygiene swabs and measuring the ATP bioluminescence. Results: The consumers lack knowledge of certain topics; the consumers aged 36 to 55 and women have demonstrated the highest level of knowledge. In some cases, the consumers being observed did not take proper action when preparing the food and therefore increased the risk of the cross-contamination of foods, food contact surfaces and kitchen utensils. The majority of consumers (97%) believe that they prepare foods safely and are convinced of their knowledge and proper food preparation practices. No increase in the total number of microorganisms, coliform bacteria and the Escherichia coli bacteria was detected in the majority of the consumers observed (n = 12.75%). The results of ATP measurements show that more than half of the samples are unclean and that a more thorough cleaning is required. Discussion and conclusion: Despite the fact that the consumers have some knowledge of food safety (e.g. preventing cross-contamination, storing leftovers, using separate dishcloths), they often fail to put that knowledge into practice. Consumers should pay more attention to personal hygiene, especially to washing their hands more often and more thoroughly. They should clean the food preparation surfaces, utensils, cutlery and dishes in their kitchens more thoroughly and promptly. They should pay more attention to preventing cross-contamination from surfaces that come into contact with food.
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