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Food safety knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors among middle school students
Irja Haapala1, Claudia Probart
1Department of Public Health and General Practice, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland. irja.haapala@uku.fi
Objective:
To assess the level of food safety knowledge, perceptions, and self-reported food-handling behaviors among middle school students.
Design:
Baseline questionnaire administered in class that assessed background characteristics, knowledge, behaviors, and perceptions related to food safety.
Participants:
178 seventh and eighth grade students from 4 schools in central Pennsylvania.
Main Outcome Measures:
Food safety knowledge, perceptions, and self-reported food-handling behaviors.
Analysis:
Independent samples t test tested differences between genders and bivariate correlation analysis explored associations among knowledge, perceptions, and behavior (P <.05).
Results:
Food safety knowledge score was 7.2 +/- 1.6 of a maximum of 10 points. Perceived self-efficacy and severity of a foodborne illness were high, but perceived susceptibility was low. Girls scored higher on the self-efficacy and severity scale (P <.01). Self-efficacy correlated positively with knowledge and behavior (P <.0001) and severity with knowledge (P <.01). One fifth reported taking risks in food handling and one fifth reported having been sick because of something they ate.
Conclusions And Implications:
There is a disconnection between middle school students' food safety knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors. A need for relevant and motivating food safety education exists in this group.