A longitudinal evaluation of food safety knowledge and attitudes among Ontario high school students following a food handler training program

Interventions in food business organisations to improve food safety culture: a rapid evidence assessment

The European Commission recently adopted Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/382 requiring food businesses to establish and provide evidence of a food safety culture (FSC). FSC incorporates management systems, risk perceptions, leadership, communication, environment and commitment to ensure food safety. This review (n = 20) investigates food safety interventions in food businesses to identify effective strategies to improve food safety practices and FSC, and to provide recommendations for improving FSC. Results found that most interventions focused on knowledge training and that workplace practical demonstrations produced the best outcomes. Similar training topics were used evidencing the existence of common training needs. Frequent training over longer time periods was most successful for behavioral change, yet no sustained behavioral change was reported, indicating that single knowledge-based interventions are insufficient, reinforcing repeated experiential learning to be incorporated into training. We suggest that FSC training should focus on FSC more broadly, rather than solely on knowledge training, and that management leadership skills in particular are important to ensure sustained positive change. This study contributes to knowledge by providing a summative overview of food safety interventions and how components of these may be used to enhance FSC in food businesses.

Assessing the knowledge of, attitudes towards, and practices in, food safety among migrant workers in Klang Valley, Malaysia

BACKGROUND

Annually, 600 million individuals are affected by food-borne diseases (FBD), alongside 425,000 fatalities. Improving the general public knowledge of, attitudes towards, and practices in, (KAP) food safety is necessary for minimizing FBD transmission. In Malaysia, migrant workers account for 11.1% of the workforce, with a high proportion involved in food and beverage services. Therefore, this study aimed (i) to evaluate the current food safety KAP, and (ii) to identify the strategies to promote food safety awareness, among migrant workers across occupational sectors in Klang Valley.

METHOD

A survey was conducted with 403 migrant workers through phone interviews and online self-administered questionnaires. Piecewise structural equation modelling and multinomial regression were applied to identify predictor variables for food safety KAP and to explore differences across nationalities.

RESULTS

The respondents were Nepalese, Filipino and Indonesian. The majority were male, working in the services industry, had completed high school, aged between 30 and 39 years and had worked in Malaysia for less than ten years. Knowledge was significantly correlated with attitudes and practices. Female respondents had lower knowledge and attitude scores while younger respondents had lower knowledge scores. Indonesian and Filipino respondents had lower knowledge and attitudes scores than Nepalese respondents. Understanding food safety information from social media was positively correlated with the respondents' food safety knowledge and practices.

CONCLUSION

These findings highlighted: (i) the need to target female, younger, Indonesian and Filipino migrant workers, and (ii) the potential of social media to improve public awareness of food safety and hygienic practices.

Reproducibility and Validity of a Self-Administered Food Safety Assessment Tool on Children and Adolescent's Risk Perception, Knowledge, and Practices

The present study aimed to verify the instrument's reliability and validity for assessing children and adolescents' risk perception, knowledge, and food safety practices in the school context. Moreover, it aimed to test the hypothesis that both application methods (paper and pencil (PAPI) and online) are valid. The instrument comprised three questionnaires and followed a strict protocol to combine online and PAPI models, resulting in five application forms. The sample consisted of 439 Brazilian students from 10 to 14 years old (y/o). The results related to reliability and validity indicated that the knowledge questionnaire presented adequate stability and discriminant validity coefficients. The self-reported practices questionnaire obtained acceptable coefficients of stability and internal consistency. Regarding risk perception data, it was observed that students attribute a low probability of Foodborne Diseases (FBD) outbreaks occurrence and low severity of possible symptoms. In addition, students demonstrated insufficient knowledge and inadequate practices on issues related to failures associated with the time and temperature of preparation, storage, and exposure of food, contamination of food, and consumption of unsafe food. In this context, the reproducibility and validity indices need to be interpreted and discussed correctly, and young people in food safety actions are a priority in facing FBD.

Food Handling Practices in the Era of COVID-19: A Mixed-Method Longitudinal Needs Assessment of Consumers in the United States

ABSTRACT

At present, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has not been shown to be transmitted through food. Even so, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed how consumers view food and food safety. This study assessed consumer food safety practices during the COVID-19 pandemic using (i) surveys and (ii) online focus group discussions. From April to August 2020, five waves of surveys were distributed to an online U.S. consumer panel and screened to include only primary food preparers and grocery shoppers. The online focus groups were conducted via WebEx from May to July 2020. Focus group participants were recruited from the first wave of survey respondents. Both survey respondents and focus group participants reported higher levels of hand washing in response to the pandemic. However, survey participants' anticipated levels of hand washing after the pandemic decreased; some focus group participants noted that human nature "kicking in" could lead to lower levels of hand hygiene practice. For each of the 5 months, the surveys reported increased produce washing, both with water only and with water plus soap. Most focus group participants mentioned using water to wash their produce, but some reported using soap and even vinegar to "kill" the virus. Since consumers were worried that SARS-CoV-2 could survive on food, they started to mishandle food to address these concerns. However, this study also reported an increase in food thermometer use during the pandemic. Social determinants like gender, income, education, and age may have also influenced changes in levels of practice throughout the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic drove consumers to practice proper and improper food safety practices, which may or may not continue after the pandemic. This study's findings provide timely information to guide future food safety education and communication during health crises and pandemics.

HIGHLIGHTS

Evaluation of the Fight BAC! The Story of Your Dinner Campaign Video: A Multistate Study

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the holiday food safety campaign, "The Story of Your Dinner," launched in 2016 by the Partnership for Food Safety Education. The campaign was designed to change knowledge, risk perception, and perceived behavioral control ideas among U.S. consumers. Results from the study, conducted from 2016 through 2018, were analyzed overall and among specific demographic groups. For respondents from all 3 years, overall knowledge significantly increased from presurvey to postsurvey. Survey findings indicated that after viewing the educational intervention, adult respondents were significantly more confident in their ability to use a food thermometer while cooking small cuts of meat and poultry and developed a significantly higher perception of the risk of suffering from foodborne illness. The educational intervention was more effective for changing risk perception and perceived behavioral control among some demographic groups. Respondent risk perception and perceived behavioral control significantly increased in more categories for adolescents than for adults. Consumers tended to overestimate their safe food handling practices. Prior to the educational intervention, adult respondents rated themselves highly (5.49 ± 1.64 of 7.00) on their confidence in cooking meat and poultry that is safe to eat. However, these respondents were less comfortable complying with the safe food handling practice of using a thermometer on small (4.47 ± 1.98) and large (4.61 ± 2.02) cuts of meat and poultry. More educational interventions are needed to improve compliance with safe food handling in home kitchens. Future studies will be conducted to identify and address barriers to food safety behavioral change among various population groups.

HIGHLIGHTS

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Hygienic Practices of Boiled Hypocotyls (Borassus aethiopum Mart) Vended in the Streets of Cotonou City and Its Outskirts, Benin

In Benin, the boiled hypocotyl (Borassus aethiopum Mart) is one of the most common street foods consumed for its therapeutic properties. However, the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of boiled hypocotyl food sellers are poorly known despite the high contamination potential of these street foods. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of boiled hypocotyls food vendors in the streets of Cotonou and its outskirts. The approach used concerned the process of good hygiene and production. Face-to-face interviews of 300 hypocotyls vendors and producers from Cotonou, Sèmè, Ouidah, and Abomey-Calavi were conducted. Concurrently, 200 samples of boiled hypocotyl were collected among study vendors. Results showed that all of the interviewed population (100%) of this activity are women. They are generally illiterate and 75% of them have never been to school. Additionally, 76.7% of street boiled hypocotyls sellers interviewed were mobile. The microbial profile of the boiled hypocotyls showed the lack of control and poor understanding of hygiene rules. The processes management also revealed two diagrams processes. The conditions in which hypocotyls vendors operate are largely unacceptable from a food safety point of view and an effort should be made to provide them with adequate infrastructure including potable water. In view of the socioeconomic impact of hypocotyl activities in Benin and their role in the unexpected arrival of food-borne diseases, vendors should be regularly trained in order to prevent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses.

Observation of High School Students' Food Handling Behaviors: Do They Improve following a Food Safety Education Intervention?

Youth are a key audience for food safety education. They often engage in risky food handling behaviors, prepare food for others, and have limited experience and knowledge of safe food handling practices. Our goal was to investigate the effectiveness of an existing food handler training program for improving safe food handling behaviors among high school students in Ontario, Canada. However, because no schools agreed to provide control groups, we evaluated whether behaviors changed following delivery of the intervention program and whether changes were sustained over the school term. We measured 32 food safety behaviors, before the intervention and at 2-week and 3-month follow-up evaluations by in-person observations of students ( n = 119) enrolled in grade 10 and 12 Food and Nutrition classes ( n = 8) and who individually prepared recipes. We examined within-student changes in behaviors across the three time points, using mixed effects regression models to model trends in the total food handling score (of a possible 32 behaviors) and subscores for "clean" (17 behaviors), "separate" (14 behaviors), and "cook" (1 behavior), adjusting for student characteristics. At baseline, students ( n = 108) averaged 49.1% (15.7 of 32 behaviors; standard deviation = 5.8) correct food handling behaviors, and only 5.5% (6) of the 108 students used a food thermometer to check the doneness of the chicken (the "cook" behavior). All four behavior score types increased significantly ∼2 weeks postintervention and remained unchanged ∼3 months later. Student characteristics (e.g., having taken a prior food handling course) were not significant predictors of the total number of correctly performed food handling behaviors or of the "clean" or "separate" behaviors, working or volunteering in a food service establishment was the only characteristic significantly associated with food thermometer use (i.e., "cook"). Despite the significant increase in correct behaviors, students continued to use risky practices postintervention, suggesting that the risk of foodborne disease remained.

Exploring the Concern about Food Allergies among Secondary School and University Students in Ontario, Canada: A Descriptive Analysis

Our objective was to explore the perceived risk of food allergies among students in Ontario, Canada. We analyzed blinding questions ("I am concerned about food allergies"; "food allergies are currently a big threat to my health") from three existing food safety surveys, given to high school and university undergraduate students (n = 3,451) circa February 2015, using descriptive analysis, and explored how concern related to demographics and self-reported cooking ability using linear regression. Overall, high school students were neutral in their concern, although Food and Nutrition students specifically were significantly less concerned (p = 0.002) than high school students overall. University undergraduates were moderately unconcerned about food allergies. Concern was highest in younger students, decreasing between 13 and 18 years of age and plateauing between 19 and 23 years. Among students aged 13-18 years, concern was higher among those who worked or volunteered in a daycare and who had previously taken a food preparation course. Among students aged 19-23 years, concern was higher among females and those with less advanced cooking abilities. Concern was significantly correlated with perceiving food allergies as a personal threat. This study offers a first exploration of perceived risk of food allergies among this demographic and can guide future, more rigorous assessments.