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

Effect of WeChat-based intervention on food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices among university students in Chongqing, China: a quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

Food safety is of global importance and has been of concern in university settings in recent years. However, effective methods to conduct food safety education are limited. This study aims to evaluate the effects of an intervention on food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) by social media, WeChat, among university students.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental study was conducted in Chongqing, China. Two departments were recruited randomly from a normal university and a medical university. One department from each university was randomly selected as the intervention group and the other as the control group. All freshmen students in each selected department were chosen to participate in this study. One thousand and twenty-three students were included at baseline, and 444 students completed the study. This intervention was conducted through food safety-related popular science articles with an average of three articles per week released by WeChat official accounts called "Yingyangren" for two months to the intervention group. No intervention was conducted in the control group. An independent t-test was used to test statistical differences in the food safety KAP scores between the two groups. A paired t-test was used to test statistical differences in the food safety KAP scores between before and after the intervention. And quantile regression analysis was conducted to explore the difference between the two groups across the quantile levels of KAP change.

RESULTS

After the intervention, compared with control group, participants in the intervention group did not score significant higher on knowledge (p = 0.98), attitude (p = 0.13), and practice (p = 0.21). And the scores of food safety knowledge and practices slightly improved after the intervention both in the intervention group (p = 0.01 and p = 0.01, respectively) and in the control group (p = 0.0003 and p = 0.0001, respectively). Additionally, the quantile regression analysis showed that the intervention had no effect on improving the food safety KAP scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The intervention using the WeChat official account had limited effects on improving the food safety KAP among the university students. This study was an exploration of food safety intervention using the WeChat official account; valuable experience can be provided for social media intervention in future study.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ChiCTR-OCH-14004861.

Tailoring Can Improve Consumers’ Hygienic Food-Handling Behavior to Reduce the Transmission Risk of Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria through Food

Antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria spread via food to humans and can seriously impair infection treatment. Hygienic food handling is an effective measure to avoid the transmission of bacteria. Therefore, we tested three types of interventions (tailored, generic, and no intervention) for their effectiveness in improving consumers’ hygienic food handling against the spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria through foods in a longitudinal randomized control trial. We based the determinants of hygienic food-handling behavior on the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). The tailored intervention raised self-reported hygienic food handling, self-efficacy, and perceived likelihood of risk compared to no intervention. Moreover, interventions yielded different effects for participants with high vs. low intentions to improve their food-handling behavior. However, there were no differences between the tailored and generic interventions. More research is needed to find out whether including other behavior change techniques in the tailored intervention may increase the effect of tailoring.

Young People’s Views on Food Hygiene and Food Safety: A Multicentre Qualitative Study

Foodborne diseases are a global burden, are preventable, and young people are a key population for behaviour change as they gain autonomy. This study aimed to explore young people’s needs across several European countries in relation to learning about and implementing food hygiene and food safety. Qualitative focus groups and interviews were conducted in rural and city regions across England, France, Hungary and Portugal. Data were collected to attain data saturation, transcribed, thematically analysed, and mapped to the Theoretical Domains Framework. Twenty-five out of 84 schools approached (29.8%) participated, with data collected from 156 11–18-year-old students. Students had good knowledge of personal hygiene but did not always follow hygiene rules due to forgetfulness, lack of facilities or lack of concern for consequences. Students had limited understanding of foodborne microbes, underestimated the risks and consequences of foodborne illness and perceived the “home” environment as the safest. Young people preferred interactive educational methods. Addressing gaps in young people’s food safety knowledge is essential to improve their lack of concern towards foodborne illness and motivate them to follow food hygiene and safety behaviours consistently. Findings have been used to develop educational resources to address gaps in knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs.

Moving Forward to the Future: A Review of Microbial Food Safety Education in China

Millions of foodborne illness cases occur in China annually, causing significant social and economic burdens. Improper food handling has been observed not only among commercial food handlers but also among residential food handlers. It is critical to conduct a comprehensive scoping review of previous efforts to identify food safety knowledge gaps, explore the factors impacting knowledge levels, and synthesize the effectiveness of all types of food safety educational interventions for commercial and residential food handlers in China. This review aims to analyze food safety education studies published over the past 20 years and provide foundations for developing more effective food safety educational interventions in China. A total of 35 studies were included in this review. Most studies reported that Chinese commercial and residential food handlers had insufficient food safety knowledge, especially in the areas of foodborne pathogens and safe food-handling practices. The factors impacting food handlers' knowledge levels included education level, gender, income level, residency (rural vs. urban), the use of WeMedia, college students' major, and food safety training experiences. Food handlers in the following demographic groups tend to have lower levels of food safety knowledge: lower education levels, the elderly, males, lower-income levels, rural residents, those who do not use WeMedia, those without food safety training experience, or college students in nonbiology-focused majors. Many food handlers did not always follow recommended food safety practices, such as proper meat handling practices, handwashing practices, and cleaning and sanitation practices. Thirteen studies evaluated the effectiveness of educational interventions, and knowledge increases were reported after all interventions. The findings of this review provide guidance to researchers, educators, and government agencies in their future efforts to develop education programs emphasizing the importance of microbial food-safety content and behavior change regarding food safety and hygiene practices.

An Integrative Review of Hygiene Practice Studies in the Food Service Sector

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the recent literature on studies relevant to hygiene practices of food service workers. A total of 32 articles were chosen for evaluation from a systematic search of the published literature from 2014 to 2019. For the assessment of hygiene practices, hand washing as a measurement item and observation as a method were most frequently used. Factors influencing hygiene practices were categorized as internal and external variables. Internal variables included knowledge; psychological factors, such as attitude, risk perception, self-efficacy, and optimistic bias; and food handlers' sociodemographic characteristics, such as work experience and exposure to hygiene training. External variables included characteristics of food premises, such as the size of the operation and number of people served, and organizational factors, such as training. Regarding the recent training literature, attempts to bring in new methodologies and new technologies were found, such as multimedia case studies, cognitive word association, behavior-focused training, wearable technology, and simulation games. Among the theories utilized, knowledge, attitude, and practices were applied most frequently to explain hygiene practices. In particular, this review highlights the important fact that internal and external factors that affect hygiene practices should be considered to maintain good hygiene practices.

HIGHLIGHTS

Effect of Observational Evaluation of Food Safety Curricula on High School Students' Behavior Change

ABSTRACT

High school students have limited food safety knowledge and lack safe food handling skills. However, youth of high school age are frequently employed in food service and will prepare food for themselves. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a food safety educational intervention for changing students' food handling behaviors, and the theory of planned behavior was used to construct factors that contribute to behavior change. A combination of stationary and wearable (GoPro) cameras was used to observe the food handling practices of high school students in key areas, including food thermometer use, hand washing and hand drying, glove changing, and environmental cleaning. The percentage of correct food handling techniques was measured categorically, and the number of groups who complied with thermometer use and environmental cleaning guidelines was recorded. The percentage of students using correct hand washing, hand drying, and glove changing techniques significantly increased in the postobservation cooking session. However, the percentage of correct hand washing and glove changing events remained <50% for certain subcategories: hand washing time (38%), hand washing after handling raw produce (36%) and touching skin (20%), changing gloves after gloves became contaminated or torn (47%), and washing hands between glove changes (15%). Students modified their behaviors to comply with subjective norms related to the study, including instructor expectations, but some students did not plan to change the behaviors they practiced at home. Students cited food handling behaviors they observed their parents using when making decisions about how to prepare food. This study highlights the need for the development of food safety educational interventions that encourage safe food handling skills and address influences from key subjective norm groups.

HIGHLIGHTS