TV Cookery Shows Are Making You an Unsafe Cook

Picture this: you're in the kitchen surrounded by ingredients which, let's be honest, you're only going to use for this one recipe before they're left to languish at the back of the fridge and start developing fur. You start channeling your inner-Jamie Oliver and bish-bash-boshing that chicken breast around, tossing it in the pan until it "looks done" (that's what Jamie says on TV, anyway). Or maybe you're more of a Nigella, preferring to lick the mixing bowl with a cheeky glint in your eye?

Whoever your kitchen role model, take note: according to a new study, Jamie and Nigella could be leading you down a path of bad behaviour.

A review published a few weeks ago by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst found that when food safety experts watched episodes of popular US cookery programmes, most were found not to conform to basic government food safety regulations.

Published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour, the study saw state regulators and food safety practitioners watch 39 episodes of ten popular US cooking shows, before rating the programmes using a survey adapted from the Massachusetts Food Establishment Inspection Report.

The results showed that in 70 percent of the episodes reviewed, "the majority of practices rated were out of compliance or conformance with recommendations." With regard to specific food safety practices, 93 percent of shows failed to cook dishes for required times and at recommended temperatures, and a similar figure saw hosts not clean up properly using dish cloths. Food safety was only mentioned in three episodes.

But it wasn't all bad marks for TV chefs. The researchers found that 72 percent of the episodes watched demonstrated proper use and storage of utensils (though worryingly, that means 28 percent of TV hosts don't know how to hold a knife) and 82 percent of programmes showed good fingernail care (insert painting nails emoji).

Nancy Cohen, lead author and professor of nutrition at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, said in a press release that the study highlights the disparity between the hygiene levels expected in professional kitchens and those seen on food television.

She said: "For most behaviours observed, the percentage of shows in conformance with recommended practices was much lower than that seen in restaurant employees and consumers in general."

According to the UK's Food Standards Agency, there are more than 500,000 cases of reported food poisoning each year in the UK, and a 2003 European-wide investigation by the World Health Organisation found that 40 percent of food poisoning cases occur in the home. With recent reports that Brits spend on average nearly two hours a week gazing at Gregg Wallace on their screens, a lot of bad habits could be picked up from hapless hosts and clumsy contestants.

Cohen did add that there was hope that the Massachusetts study would help improve food safety on TV. She said: "There are many opportunities on cooking shows to educate the public regarding safe food handling practices and help reduce the incidence of foodborne illness. Similarly, nutrition and food safety educators could work with the media to produce shows that demonstrate positive food safety behaviours."

Watch your back, Oliver.