Proper cooling of foods is known to reduce spoilage and help prevent food-borne illnesses. Nonetheless, little is known about consumers' awareness of guidelines regarding appropriate refrigeration of food or their actual refrigeration practices. Focus groups of consumers of common ethnic backgrounds were designed to evaluate food safety knowledge and home refrigeration practices. Differences were found among ethnic and age groups regarding knowledge of proper refrigeration practices and general food safety, as well as common refrigeration practices. Most participants did not know proper refrigerator temperatures, and none used refrigerator thermometers. The most common sources of food safety information were relatives and extension educators. Eight focus groups of common ethnicity were conducted involving a total of 53 persons. Ethnic groupings included Hispanic, African American, and Caucasian. Comparisons of responses from the eight groups provided insights into consumer practices by ethnic group, whereas the opinions of minority individuals might be overshadowed in focus groups of mixed ethnicity. Although misconceptions were apparent, participants offered many suggestions for avoiding food-borne illnesses (Table 1). They were less certain when the questions focused on refrigeration and cooling practices. Few participants knew the correct refrigerator temperature, and none had a refrigerator thermometer. Most judged the refrigerator temperature from everyday experience (e.g., "I feel the milk to see if it is cold"). It was commonly thought that the dial setting needed to be changed in the summer for food to stay cold.