DiarrheaNCT07332078
Meatsafe Food Storage and Diarrhea Prevention Trial in Urban Bangladesh
A study testing Meatsafe Food Storage Cabinet in people with Diarrhea, run by University of California, Berkeley at 1 site in Bangladesh.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial was to evaluate whether a simple household food storage cabinet called a "meatsafe" could reduce bacterial contamination of complementary foods and decrease diarrhea among children aged 6 to 24 months living in low-income settlements of Dhaka, Bangladesh.The study compared households… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 6 to 24 monthsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Diarrhea
- What is being tested?
- Meatsafe Food Storage Cabinet
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 290 participants
- Where
- 1 siteBangladesh
- Study dates
- 11 Aug 2024to 30 Nov 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 6 to 24 months
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Household had at least one child aged 6 to 24 months.
- Adult caregiver aged 18 years or older, responsible for child feeding, provided informed consent.
- Household had lived in the study area for at least 6 months and expected to remain for at least 6 additional months.
- Caregiver demonstrated willingness to comply with the assigned intervention or control.
Who cannot join
- Household owned a functional meatsafe or refrigerator.
- Household planned relocation outside the study area within 6 months.
- Caregiver did not provide informed consent.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Bangladesh1 site
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b)
Dhaka, 1212
About this study
Official title: Evaluating the Impact of a Low-Cost Food Storage Cabinet ("Meatsafe") on Complementary Food Contamination and Diarrheal Disease in Low-Income Urban Households: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Dhaka, Bangladesh
The goal of this clinical trial was to evaluate whether a simple household food storage cabinet called a "meatsafe" could reduce bacterial contamination of complementary foods and decrease diarrhea among children aged 6 to 24 months living in low-income settlements of Dhaka, Bangladesh.The study compared households that received a meatsafe and one-time food storage education with households that continued their usual practices. Participating caregivers completed surveys; provided stored food samples for microbiological testing; answered questions about recent child illness; and took part in spot checks of household hygiene and meatsafe use. The trial generated evidence on whether a low-cost and practical tool could help keep children's food safer and reduce diarrheal disease in settings without reliable refrigeration.
Read the detailed description
Diarrhea remained a major cause of illness and death among children under five years old in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In Bangladesh, complementary foods for young children were frequently contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli). Storing food uncovered exposed it to contamination from flies, dust, animals, and hands. Existing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs did not directly address food hygiene within the home. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) tested whether a low-cost, mesh-covered food storage cabinet ("meatsafe") could reduce microbial contamination of cooked food in urban settlements in Dhaka. Meatsafes were commercially available in local markets and familiar to many households. A total of 290 households living in the Mirpur and Korail settlements were enrolled. Each household had at least one child aged 6 to 24 months. The protocol originally anticipated enrolling 252 households, but 290 were enrolled to maintain balanced allocation and mitigate attrition. Households were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Study staff completed follow-up visits every two weeks through Week 10 (five post-intervention follow-ups). Households in the control group did not receive a meatsafe or food hygiene education and continued their usual food storage practices. Households in the intervention group received a free meatsafe and one-time, in-person education on safe food storage and hygiene, along with an illustrated handout to display in the home. Participating households completed surveys on demographics, hygiene behaviors, child feeding, and health; provided stored food samples that were tested for E. coli using culture plating with colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g) enumeration; reported any child diarrhea in the previous seven days; and participated in spot checks of household hygiene and meatsafe use. The primary outcome was the prevalence of complementary food samples with >= 100 CFU/g of E. coli. Secondary outcomes included caregiver-reported diarrhea, dietary diversity, snack and street-food consumption, and measures of meatsafe use and functionality. This study produced evidence on whether providing meatsafes could improve food safety and reduce diarrheal disease among young children in dense urban communities.
- Conditions
- Diarrhea
- Being tested
- Meatsafe Food Storage Cabinet
- Keywords
- Food Safety, Complementary Foods, Food Hygiene, Safe Food Storage, Meatsafe, Bangladesh, Urban Slum, Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), Enteric Pathogens, Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), Low-Cost Intervention, Complementary Feeding, Public Health Intervention, Foodborne Pathogens, Enteric Infection, Diarrheal Disease, Fecal-Oral Transmission, Microbial Contamination, Foodborne Illness
- Medical subject headings
- Diarrhea, Foodborne Diseases, Escherichia coli Infections
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Meatsafe Food Storage CabinetDevice
A wire-mesh cabinet for storing cooked food. Designed to prevent contamination from flies, dust, animals, and handling. Distributed with an educational handout and verbal instruction on safe food storage.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention Meatsafe Arm | Experimental | Households received a low-cost, mesh-covered food storage cabinet ("meatsafe") and one-time, in-person education on safe food storage and hygiene. Caregivers also received an illustrated handout to display in the home. Receives: Device: Meatsafe Food Storage Cabinet |
| Control Arm | No intervention | Households did not receive a meatsafe or safe storage education and continued their usual food preparation and storage practices. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Prevalence of high-level E. coli contamination (>=100 colony-forming units per gram of food, cfu/g) in complementary food samples
Food samples were collected from stored complementary foods and tested using standard culture plating. Colony counts were recorded as colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g). Samples with >=100 CFU/g were classified as unsafe per international microbiological standards.
Safety Issue: No
Measured: Baseline; Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Secondary outcomes (8)
7-day caregiver-reported diarrhea in children less than 23 months old
Diarrhea was defined per World Health Organization (WHO) criteria as >=3 loose stools within a 24-hour period in the past 7 days.
Measured: Baseline; Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Duration of food storage
Data collectors will record the duration that prepared complementary foods are stored using the following defined categories: <=4 hours, >4 to 8 hours and >8 hours.
Measured: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Temperature of food storage location
Ambient temperature of the food storage area was measured in degrees Celsius using a digital thermometer.
Measured: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Humidity of food storage location
Relative humidity of the food storage environment was recorded as a percentage (%) using a digital hygrometer.
Measured: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Recall of food hygiene and meatsafe behavior-change messages
Caregivers were asked to recall and describe key hygiene and storage messages from the educational handout.
Measured: Week 10
Meatsafe functionality
Spot checks observation of functionality of the food storage cabinet assessed using a 3-category rating: does not close / difficult to close / closes easily. These categories do not represent a numerical or ordinal scale.
Measured: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10.
Meatsafe Cleanliness
Spot checks observation of cleanliness assessed using a 3-category rating: considerable dirt / some dirt / very clean. These categories do not represent a numerical or ordinal scale.
Measured: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Meatsafe screen condition
Spot checks observation of screen condition assessed using a 3-category rating: multiple holes / one hole / no holes. These categories do not represent a numerical or ordinal scale.
Measured: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted12 Jan 2026
- Study start11 Aug 2024
- Primary completion20 Oct 2024
- Study completion30 Nov 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for DiarrheaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Two-arm RCT in which households were randomly allocated to receive either no intervention (control) or a meatsafe with food storage education (intervention).
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 290 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, Berkeley
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07332078
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 092000310-UCB-0310
- Status last verified
- Dec 2025
- First submitted
- 18 Nov 2025
- Last updated
- 12 Jan 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: De-identified individual participant data (IPD), including household survey responses and microbiological food sample results, may be shared upon reasonable request. Only de-identified data will be shared, with all personal identifiers removed, and use will be consistent with participant consent and approvals by the relevant institutional review boards: UC Berkeley Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) and icddr,b Ethical Review Committee (ERC).
Publications
Rahman MJ, Nurunnahar S, Akhter N, Rahman M, Amin MB, Haque R, Winch PJ, Kwong LH. Evaluating the impact of a low-cost food storage intervention on complementary food contamination and diarrheal disease in low-income urban households: A randomized controlled trial in Dhaka, Bangladesh. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2026 Jun 11;6(6):e0005883. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005883. eCollection 2026.
PubMed 42275407
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 12 Jan 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Evaluating the Impact of a Low-Cost Food Storage Cabinet ("Meatsafe") on Complementary Food Contamination and Diarrheal Disease in Low-Income Urban Households: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Dhaka, Bangladesh
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07332078
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 092000310-UCB-0310
- Conditions
- Diarrhea
- Keywords
- Food Safety, Complementary Foods, Food Hygiene, Safe Food Storage, Meatsafe, Bangladesh, Urban Slum, Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 290 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, BerkeleyUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Study start
- 11 Aug 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 20 Oct 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Nov 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 12 Jan 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this clinical trial was to evaluate whether a simple household food storage cabinet called a "meatsafe" could reduce bacterial contamination of complementary foods and decrease diarrhea among children aged 6 to 24 months living in low-income settlements of Dhaka, Bangladesh.The study compared households that received a meatsafe and one-time food storage education with households that continued their usual practices. Participating caregivers completed surveys; provided stored food samples for microbiological testing; answered questions about recent child illness; and took part in spot checks of household hygiene and meatsafe use. The trial generated evidence on whether a low-cost and practical tool could help keep children's food safer and reduce diarrheal disease in settings without reliable refrigeration.
Detailed description
Diarrhea remained a major cause of illness and death among children under five years old in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In Bangladesh, complementary foods for young children were frequently contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli). Storing food uncovered exposed it to contamination from flies, dust, animals, and hands. Existing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs did not directly address food hygiene within the home. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) tested whether a low-cost, mesh-covered food storage cabinet ("meatsafe") could reduce microbial contamination of cooked food in urban settlements in Dhaka. Meatsafes were commercially available in local markets and familiar to many households. A total of 290 households living in the Mirpur and Korail settlements were enrolled. Each household had at least one child aged 6 to 24 months. The protocol originally anticipated enrolling 252 households, but 290 were enrolled to maintain balanced allocation and mitigate attrition. Households were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Study staff completed follow-up visits every two weeks through Week 10 (five post-intervention follow-ups). Households in the control group did not receive a meatsafe or food hygiene education and continued their usual food storage practices. Households in the intervention group received a free meatsafe and one-time, in-person education on safe food storage and hygiene, along with an illustrated handout to display in the home. Participating households completed surveys on demographics, hygiene behaviors, child feeding, and health; provided stored food samples that were tested for E. coli using culture plating with colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g) enumeration; reported any child diarrhea in the previous seven days; and participated in spot checks of household hygiene and meatsafe use. The primary outcome was the prevalence of complementary food samples with >= 100 CFU/g of E. coli. Secondary outcomes included caregiver-reported diarrhea, dietary diversity, snack and street-food consumption, and measures of meatsafe use and functionality. This study produced evidence on whether providing meatsafes could improve food safety and reduce diarrheal disease among young children in dense urban communities.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- Two-arm RCT in which households were randomly allocated to receive either no intervention (control) or a meatsafe with food storage education (intervention).
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention Meatsafe Arm | Experimental | Device: Meatsafe Food Storage CabinetHouseholds received a low-cost, mesh-covered food storage cabinet ("meatsafe") and one-time, in-person education on safe food storage and hygiene. Caregivers also received an illustrated handout to display in the home. |
| Control Arm | No intervention | –Households did not receive a meatsafe or safe storage education and continued their usual food preparation and storage practices. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 6 to 24 months
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Household had at least one child aged 6 to 24 months.
- Adult caregiver aged 18 years or older, responsible for child feeding, provided informed consent.
- Household had lived in the study area for at least 6 months and expected to remain for at least 6 additional months.
- Caregiver demonstrated willingness to comply with the assigned intervention or control.
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Household owned a functional meatsafe or refrigerator.
- Household planned relocation outside the study area within 6 months.
- Caregiver did not provide informed consent.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Meatsafe Food Storage CabinetA wire-mesh cabinet for storing cooked food. Designed to prevent contamination from flies, dust, animals, and handling. Distributed with an educational handout and verbal instruction on safe food storage. | Device | Intervention Meatsafe Arm |
Primary outcome
Prevalence of high-level E. coli contamination (>=100 colony-forming units per gram of food, cfu/g) in complementary food samples
Time frame: Baseline; Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Food samples were collected from stored complementary foods and tested using standard culture plating. Colony counts were recorded as colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g). Samples with >=100 CFU/g were classified as unsafe per international microbiological standards. Safety Issue: No
8 secondary outcomes
7-day caregiver-reported diarrhea in children less than 23 months old
Time frame: Baseline; Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Duration of food storage
Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Temperature of food storage location
Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Humidity of food storage location
Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Recall of food hygiene and meatsafe behavior-change messages
Time frame: Week 10
Meatsafe functionality
Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10.
Meatsafe Cleanliness
Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Meatsafe screen condition
Time frame: Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 12 Jan 2026.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 42275407Rahman MJ, Nurunnahar S, Akhter N, Rahman M, Amin MB, Haque R, Winch PJ, Kwong LH. Evaluating the impact of a low-cost food storage intervention on complementary food contamination and diarrheal disease in low-income urban households: A randomized controlled trial in Dhaka, Bangladesh. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2026 Jun 11;6(6):e0005883. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005883. eCollection 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. De-identified individual participant data (IPD), including household survey responses and microbiological food sample results, may be shared upon reasonable request. Only de-identified data will be shared, with all personal identifiers removed, and use will be consistent with participant consent and approvals by the relevant institutional review boards: UC Berkeley Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) and icddr,b Ethical Review Committee (ERC).
Related trials for Diarrhea
Not yet recruiting
Comparison of Two Probiotics for Reducing Diarrhea Frequency in Children Aged 6-24 Months
Acute Watery Diarrhea, Acute Watery Diarrhoea
RecruitingPhase 2
Long-Term Immunogenicity of the altSonflex1-2-3 Shigella Vaccine in African Children
Diarrhoea
RecruitingPhase 2
Prophylactic Mesalamine to Prevent Colitis Following Treatment With Ipilimumab/Nivolumab (Ipi/Nivo)
Immune-related Adverse Event, Diarrhea
RecruitingPhase 2
A Study of Brenipatide (LY3537031) in Participants With Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Diarrhea (IBS-D)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Diarrhea
Recruiting
Lactic Acid Bacteria in Functional Diarrheal Disorders
IBS-D (Diarrhea-predominant), IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Meatsafe Food Storage Cabinet in people with Diarrhea, run by University of California, Berkeley at 1 site in Bangladesh.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Jan 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Bangladesh. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Prevalence of high-level E. coli contamination (>=100 colony-forming units per gram of food, cfu/g) in complementary food samples (time frame: Baseline; Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07332078, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Jan 2026.