Safe food refrigeration knowledge, attitudes, and practices of university students

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 1085-1098
Author(s):  
David Obande ◽  
Ian Young
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
University Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Residence Halls ◽  
Food Storage ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Safe Food ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

PurposeStudents living in university residence halls often have refrigerators for food storage, and are often living alone and handling food for the first time in their lives. Therefore, an investigation of their safe food storage practices is important to help prevent food-borne illness in this population. This research seeks to evaluate the food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices related to food storage and refrigeration among undergraduate students at a university campus.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study was conducted by administering a questionnaire to undergraduate students (n = 93) living in two residence halls on a university campus.FindingsMany respondents (43.3 percent) were unaware of the maximum temperature a refrigerator should be set at to prevent microbial growth, while 83.7 percent reported ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ checking the temperature of their refrigerator using a thermometer. Many respondents (43.1 percent) incorrectly ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that the smell and appearance of food can be used as an indicator for food safety, and 64.1 percent self-reported often or always using this practice. Respondents that were born outside of Canada had more positive food storage attitudes, while those that identified as Caucasian had higher knowledge scores. A positive correlation was identified between knowledge and attitude scores (r = 0.217) but neither were significantly associated with practice scores.Originality/valueThe study revealed gaps in the knowledge, attitudes and practices of university students living in residence halls related to safe food storage. Hence, there is a need to increase awareness and education in this population on key food storage practices.

Evaluating the knowledge, attitudes and practices of adults on food safety: a cross-sectional sample from Turkey

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pınar Göbel ◽  
Nevin Şanlier ◽  
Sine Yilmaz ◽  
Onur Toka ◽  
Büşra Açikalin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The Body ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the levels of food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of consumer. Design/methodology/approach In total, 1,161 volunteers were included in this study, which has been developed to measure the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of adults on food safety. Study data were collected through an online survey technique. Findings A statistically significant difference was determined between male and female participants and also at the education level considering total food safety attitude and practice scores (p < 0,001). It was determined that university graduates had higher scores at all scales than the median scores. When an assessment was made on the body mass index of the participants, it was seen that the implementation and attitude scales were statistically different from each other, and in paired comparisons on these scales, the average scores of normal-weight individuals were observed higher in the sub-dimensions than slightly obese individuals (p < 0.007; p < 0.001). Research limitations/implications Even though the population of the study was adults living in different cities, the results should not be generalized to all adults and the whole country. Also, the fact that the answers to the questions were not face-to-face, could create a bias. Although the reliability coefficient was found to be high, the data reported by the individuals participating in the study about their behavior formed the study results. Originality/value This study makes an important contribution to the literature. Determining the knowledge, attitude and behavior of consumers about food safety is important in ensuring food safety.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of sustainability in two university populations, Colombia

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Salas-Zapata ◽  
Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-Arias
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Analytical Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes ◽  
Age Attitudes ◽  
Practice Knowledge ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

PurposeThe objective of this study was to analyze knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) on the sustainability in two populations of university students.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional analytical study with university students.FindingsThe scale employed showed remarkable psychometric properties of reproducibility and validity. Besides, KAP levels were found to be related in the studied population, with higher levels of knowledge and attitudes than those of practice. Knowledge was found to be related to educational cycle and age, attitudes with sex and age and practices with age.Originality/valueThis is one of the few studies in the field of KAP related to sustainability and environmental issues in using a validated psychometric scale. As a consequence, this study also offers methodological details necessary to make comparisons with similar populations in other countries.

scholarly journals Food Safety Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among Jordan Universities Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tareq M. Osaili ◽  
Anas A. Al-Nabulsi ◽  
Asma' O. Taybeh
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
University Students ◽  
Safety Information ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Cross Contamination ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Safety Knowledge ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) amongst university students in Jordan and changes in food-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Correlation between food safety KAP scores and general characteristics of university students was also evaluated.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted where an Internet-based questionnaire was distributed through social media platforms. The sample consisted of 1,739 respondents from 29 Jordanian universities. The participants completed a 58-item questionnaire covering demographical characteristics and different food safety aspects which were namely “COVID-19 food-related attributes,” “food cooking and storage,” “personal hygiene.” “cross-contamination prevention/disinfection procedures.” and “restaurant hygiene.” Descriptive statistics, Chi square tests and binary logistic analysis were used to assess the data.Results: The sample consisted of 67.2% females with a mean age of 21.3 ± 1.8 years. The average overall score of the tested aspects was 14.1/34.0 which corresponds to 41.3% of the questions being answered correctly. The percentage of correct answers of “COVID-19 food-related attributes,” “food cooking and storage,” “cross-contamination prevention/disinfection procedures,” “personal hygiene” and “restaurant hygiene” was 56.8, 36.6, 28.4, 44.6. and 36.9%, respectively. A significant (P &lt;0.05) association between respondents' food safety KAP scores and gender, marital status, university degree, employment status, self-rating of food safety knowledge, and the source of food safety information.Conclusion: University students in Jordan had insufficient KAP scores which is a concerning trend during the pandemic. Teaching fundamentals of food safety in the form of short courses/ lectures is recommended.

Knowledge, attitude and practice toward sustainability among university students in UAE

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Farouk Radwan ◽  
Engy M. Abou Sreea Khalil
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Attitude And Practice ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Attitude And Practice ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Purpose This paper aims to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices adopted among University of Sharjah (UOS) students toward sustainability efforts done by their university. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was emailed to students with the assistance of the UOS Sustainability Office. The survey consisted of four sections assessing knowledge, attitudes, practices and preferred media to obtain sustainability information. A total of 200 responses from male and female students, representing 4 levels of study in sciences and humanities colleges, were received. Research data is analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics (version 26). For assessing knowledge, eight items were developed to measure if the student knew about the university’s projects and activities in the field of sustainability. For assessing attitudes, six items were developed to indicate the level of agreement or disagreement toward main sustainability issues. For assessing practices, ten items were developed to measure the frequency of acting in a sustainable manner. Findings Survey results showed an advanced level of basic knowledge among university students regarding the programs and activities conducted by UOS, and a positive attitude toward these efforts and toward the importance of supporting sustainable practices. Most of the participating students disagreed with limiting the use of cars on campus – this may be because of a cultural aspect among young people in the Emirati society, who consider driving cars as an essential part of their daily life. Most students also indicated that they care about the behavior that supports sustainability in the university environment, such as rationalizing water consumption and using environment friendly products. Research limitations/implications The study’s limitations are that it was applied to one university – UOS. The sample of the online survey was only 200 students from undergraduate students. Different universities may have their own sets of different environmental approaches, and because of this reason, university students may exhibit different levels of knowledge, attitude and practice toward sustainability in contrast to the findings from this study. Practical implications Findings from this research can give decision-makers a good picture of the university’s performance in accomplishing sustainability. The authors recommend that UOS sustainability communication programs should be more comprehensive, and not only limited to protecting the environment that some students perceive as the primary aspect of sustainability. These efforts must address all economic and social aspects emphasized by the United Arab Emirates 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is considered one of the first studies addressing sustainability efforts in Emirati universities and seeking to assess the level of student knowledge, attitudes and practices toward sustainability issues in the country. The study is crucial in providing better insights such as the level of knowledge, attitude and practices toward UOS sustainability performance. As found in this study, even with sufficient knowledge, students still lack the drive to convert them into actions. So, future research could investigate deeper into the barriers of converting sustainable knowledge and attitudes into practices. The results represent an added value to the research literature concerned with sustainability issues in the Arab world and the Middle East region. This paper will also contribute to the sustainability literature that will be benefited by other various organizations.

Construction and validation of a knowledge, attitudes and practices scale related to sustainability in university students

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Salas-Zapata ◽  
Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-Arias
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Internal Consistency Reliability ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Psychometric Validation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Power Content ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Discriminant Power ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

PurposeThe objective of this study was to build and validate a scale to analyze the knowledge, attitudes and practices on the sustainability of university students.Design/methodology/approachPsychometric validation was carried out using the criteria of internal consistency, reliability, discriminant power, content validity and predictive validity.FindingsThe KAP scale designed in this study demonstrated excellent psychometric properties and is apt for evaluating knowledge, attitudes and practices in university students.Originality/valueTransitions toward sustainability require changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) related to sustainability, making it necessary to have tools that support educational interventions for sustainability that tend toward a generation of changes in the decisions and behavior of people. In that sense, a KAP scale can be a useful tool to support these interventions. However, studies that use validated scales are scarce.

Assessing food safety and associated food hygiene and sanitary practices in food industries

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suvasish Das Shuvo
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Purpose The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers about food hygiene and sanitation in biscuit industry of central marketing company in Jessore, Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered, structured questionnaire was designed and data were collected during the period of April to July 2016 from 110 food handlers using simple random sampling. Findings The results show that the food handlers had excellent knowledge, attitude and good practices toward food hygiene and sanitation and food contamination related to food safety. The mean score (standard deviation) of knowledge, attitudes and practices were 20.1 (3.9), 18.6 (3.1) and 16.7 (3.3), respectively (p < 0.007). There was significant correlation between food safety training and knowledge, knowledge and attitude or knowledge and practices (p < 0.001). The majority (90.9 per cent) of the respondents stated that they intended to make sure that the prepared food was safe for consumers, which was significant (p < 0.007). Almost all of the food workers were aware of the critical role of general sanitary practices in the work place. The study suggests that the knowledge, attitude and practice level of food handlers were satisfactory. Originality/value Continuous education and training should be organized to strengthen food handlers’ knowledge in areas which seem to be deficient.

Safe Eats: An Evaluation of the Use of Social Media for Food Safety Education

2012 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
pp. 1453-1463 ◽  
Author(s):  
ASHLEY BRAMLETT MAYER ◽  
JUDY A. HARRISON
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Safety Education ◽  
Safety Attitudes ◽  
Food Safety Education ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Safe Food ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
And Control

Many undergraduate students are cooking for the first time, and they need to learn safe food practices to reduce their risk of foodborne illness. Social media tools are being utilized to disseminate public health messages, but limited research has been conducted to examine the effectiveness of these tools for food safety education. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a social media–based intervention for young adults to improve food safety attitudes, practices, and knowledge. Preliminary surveys were conducted and online focus groups were convened to guide design of this social media intervention. College students (710) were included in treatment and control groups. Results from pretests and posttests indicate that participation in the “Safe Eats” Facebook intervention leads to improvements in food safety attitudes, practices, and knowledge. Although students reported that they learned more from the intervention than from a traditional lecture, the combination of lecture and Facebook resulted in higher knowledge scores than those resulting from the intervention alone. Participants who spent more time on the Facebook page had greater improvements in food safety attitudes and practices.

Food allergy knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) among restaurant's staff in Jordan: a cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nour Amin Elsahoryi ◽  
Refat Alkurd ◽  
Leena Ahmad ◽  
Amin N. Olaimat ◽  
Fwzieh Hammad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Allergy ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Knowledge Level ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

PurposePeople with food allergies rely to a great extent on restaurant staff to have a safe meal. The purpose of this paper is to acquire novel data to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and practices of food allergy among the restaurant's staff and factors that could be associated with these domains.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study involving 306 restaurant staff in Amman City, Jordan was conducted using a validated self-reported questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors independently associated with knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP).FindingsThe results showed that most restaurant staff had moderate to excellent knowledge, positive attitudes, low to moderate risk practices regarding food allergy. Knowledge level was significantly associated with the staff's age, position, education level and restaurant class. Further, attitude level was significantly associated with staff age, experience, gender, education level, restaurant class and whether the restaurant held food safety certificates. Similarly, staff behavioral practices were significantly associated with staff position, restaurant class and the presence of valid food safety certificates.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that more training for the staff in restaurants would be associated with a lower risk of providing unsafe meals.Originality/valueThis study demonstrated the need for the pre-employment theoretical and practical tests for restaurants’ staff to determine their knowledge level and provide them mandatory developing training programs to support and facilitate food allergy risk management and to develop food allergy policies.

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