Homemakers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding food safety topics were explored in a nationwide survey conducted in 1974 by the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. The study focuses on homemakers’ food safety practices, knowledge of-bacterial food contamination, their understanding of the functions of Government meat and poultry inspection, their attitudes toward selected food additives, and their preference for the ways in which food safety information can be disseminated. Areas of emphasis to be incorporated into food safety education programs and deterrents to consumer acceptance of these programs are also discussed.