Digital food safety communication on YouTube: quality, reliability and evidence gaps in safe meat cooking videos
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Safe meat cooking is a key consumer-level control against foodborne pathogens, but many consumers seek practical cooking guidance from social media platforms where scientific oversight is limited. This cross-sectional study evaluated the quality, reliability and evidence gaps of English-language YouTube videos on safe meat cooking. On 13 November 2025, the first 180 videos retrieved with the search term "safe meat cooking" were screened, and 40 eligible videos were analysed. Two food-specialist evaluators independently scored the videos using a content-specific Video Content Quality Score, the Global Quality Scale and a five-item modified DISCERN tool. The mean Video Content Quality Score was 10.59 ± 4.16 out of 20, indicating moderate completeness. Mean Global Quality Scale and modified DISCERN scores were 3.40 ± 1.01 and 3.27 ± 1.04, respectively. Educational and individual uploaders did not differ significantly in quality or reliability scores, whereas individual videos showed higher interaction rates. Item-level analysis identified gaps in explicit source citation, additional learning resources, raw-meat handling hygiene and pathogen-risk explanation. Viewer popularity metrics were not significantly associated with quality or reliability scores. These findings suggest that accessible digital cooking content should not be assumed to be evidence-based and highlight the need for expert-reviewed food safety communication online.
Source: Research Square
Authors: Ahmet Çelik, Ömer Faruk Yeşil
Institution: Dicle University
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225407819