Communicating Safe Food Handling Practices for Thanksgiving

Background:

• The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) Thanksgiving consumer food safety education campaign provided safe food handling information to consumers through a variety of platforms.

Program background:

• The campaign used traditional media, social media, a press release, blogs, videos, and graphics to share pertinent information about preparing a safe Thanksgiving meal. The campaign was also unique because it facilitates two-way communication between USDA and consumers in the home, through promotion of the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline (which is open on Thanksgiving Day).

Evaluation Methods and Results:

• The campaign plan was formulated by food safety experts, public affairs specialists, and visual information specialists. The campaign staff worked together to publish campaign content, conduct media interviews, and share messaging to consumers. Additional staff participated in the implementation of the campaign for certain elements, including pitching to media, stakeholder outreach, and social media.

Conclusions:

• Campaign messaging was seen on 5,508,612 screens, including impressions and views from traditional media (3,028,473 impressions), social media (1,265,540 impressions and 57,809 views), web content (21,001 views) and stakeholder outreach (1,135,789). The Meat and Poultry Hotline received 2,409 inquiries.

Implications for research and/or practice:

• N/A