Abstract
The aim of this study is to assess the overall food safety knowledge of students at the College of Basic Education in Kuwait and to explore the relationship between their knowledge and demographic characteristics. A valid questionnaire was used that included 16 food handling practice (FHP) questions and 15 food safety knowledge (FSK) questions. Each question had one correct answer that was awarded a score of one point, while a score of zero was given for all incorrect answers. In addition, a passing percentage was calculated. A passing percentage is the percentage of participants who answered correctly ≥ 50% of the questions. A total of 585 students participated in the study (mean age = 21.3 ± 3.88 years). The results showed that the mean score of FHP was 7.56 ± 1.96 (47.2%), with the highest mean practices being using a paper towel to dry hands and washing hands before cooking or eating (91.5% and 90.1%, resp.). The lowest mean practices (5.3%) were checking the temperature of burgers followed by (6%) the way of defrosting meat. The mean score of FSK was 3.44 ± 2.00 (22.9%), with the highest mean knowledge (63.8%) being related to cleaning the kitchen counter. The lowest mean knowledge (6.8%) was related to the optimum growth temperature for the most disease-causing bacteria. The overall passing percentage of FHP was 55%, while it was 2.9% for FSK. The results obtained showed that the students with the highest FHP scores were generally female, aged ≥ 28 years, and single, and they cook by themselves all the time or sometimes ( p < 0.001 , p < 0.001 , p < 0.001 , and p = 0.004 , resp.). The students with the highest FSK scores were generally male and they cook by themselves all the time or sometimes ( p = 0.018 and p = 0.002 , resp.). In conclusion, the study showed that students had insufficient scores for FHP and FSK. Therefore, an effective food safety education programme is urgently needed.
Highlights
Food safety refers to the procedures used in handling, preparing, and storing food in a way that prevents contamination and foodborne diseases [1]
A report conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) [5] has shown that almost 1 in 10 people in the world fall ill after eating contaminated food and more than 91 million people are affected in developing countries
To the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of studies that investigate FSK and food handling practice (FHP) among Kuwaiti students. erefore, this study aims to assess the overall food safety knowledge of students at the College of Basic Education in Kuwait and to explore the relationship between their knowledge and demographic characteristics
Summary
Food safety refers to the procedures used in handling, preparing, and storing food in a way that prevents contamination and foodborne diseases [1]. Governments all over the world are doing their best to improve the safety of food, the occurrence of foodborne disease remains a significant health issue in both developed and developing countries [4]. A report conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) [5] has shown that almost 1 in 10 people in the world fall ill after eating contaminated food and more than 91 million people are affected in developing countries. E WHO has developed the Five Keys to Safer Food programme as available guidance to provide basic principles that each individual should know to ensure safer food and prevent foodborne diseases. It has been estimated that each year 1.8 million people die as a result of diarrhoeal diseases. is may be due to poor food safety and unhygienic/improper handling practices, cross contamination from food contact surfaces, and inadequate preservation methods [3]. e WHO has developed the Five Keys to Safer Food programme as available guidance to provide basic principles that each individual should know to ensure safer food and prevent foodborne diseases. e basic principles are to keep clean, separate raw and cooked food, cook thoroughly, keep food at a safe temperature, and use safe water and raw materials [6].
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