Understanding and evaluating risk perception, knowledge, and food safety self-reported practices of public-school...

Foodborne diseases are a global burden. Actions to fight this group of diseases are necessary, especially for the younger demographic, which consists of consumers, food handlers, and the future workforce of the food chain. To this end, outlining the food safety profile of the target audience is imperative. Thus, this study aimed to understand and evaluate the risk perception, knowledge, and food safety self-reported practices of individuals between 5th and 9th grades (10 to 14 years old, considering the normal teaching flow) of public schools in the Federal District - Brazil. Instruments by Batista et al. (2023) and Brazil (2013) were used to achieve the objectives. The study included 1,420 students aged 9 to 17 (women = 50.6 %; n = 719) with a mean age of 11.9 years (±1.7) enrolled in 25 schools. It was observed that a more significant proportion of students attributed very low and low risk of Foodborne Diseases to the foods produced and served in School Food Services. The presence of optimistic bias, low perception of lethality, average knowledge, risky practices, and the gap between unsafe food knowledge and safe food handling/consumption practices were also identified. Correlations were identified between social vulnerability and risk perception (positive) and self-reported practices (negative). The results show the urgency of considering these individuals to ensure food safety, considering their vulnerability, reality, and the tools at their disposal.