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

Rowshonara Syeda,Pia Touboul Lundgren,Charlotte Eley,Catherine Hayes,Cliodna Ann Miriam Mcnulty,Atilla Kunszabo,Dávid Szakos,Tekla Izsó,Dimitra Gennimata,Carla Brown,Noémie Ferré,Paula Teixeira,Virginie Lacroix-Hugues,Cristina Nunes,Monica Truninger,Gyula Kasza

doi:10.3390/educsci11060261

Abstract

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.

Highlights

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Foodborne diseases are preventable and a global burden, with 600 million worldwide cases annually and 420,000 deaths, including 30% of deaths in children under 5 years [1].Antimicrobial resistant foodborne pathogens are increasing, and becoming harder to treat [2,3].Previous research with children, young people and university students across Europe, Australia, Canada and USA suggest a lack of knowledge, concern and perceived susceptibility to foodborne illness [4,5,6,7,8]
Curriculum analysis (Table 1) showed that several food hygiene topics were common for the 11–18-year age bracket in England, France, Hungary and Greece: food spoilage and contamination; microorganisms and enzymes; buying, storing and cooking food; personal hygiene; keeping work areas clean; and food storage and preparation
With the increasing popularity of consuming convenience foods, students may perceive they do not need to develop cooking or food hygiene skills, and students in our study reported basic cooking skills

Summary

Introduction

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Foodborne diseases are preventable and a global burden, with 600 million worldwide cases annually and 420,000 deaths, including 30% of deaths in children under 5 years [1].Antimicrobial resistant foodborne pathogens are increasing, and becoming harder to treat [2,3].Previous research with children, young people and university students across Europe, Australia, Canada and USA suggest a lack of knowledge, concern and perceived susceptibility to foodborne illness [4,5,6,7,8]. Foodborne diseases are preventable and a global burden, with 600 million worldwide cases annually and 420,000 deaths, including 30% of deaths in children under 5 years [1]. Antimicrobial resistant foodborne pathogens are increasing, and becoming harder to treat [2,3]. Young people and university students across Europe, Australia, Canada and USA suggest a lack of knowledge, concern and perceived susceptibility to foodborne illness [4,5,6,7,8]. People, there is a distinct lack of qualitative research exploring the determinants of young people’s behaviour, as well as interventions designed to change behaviour. School education of young people allows for targeted education to facilitate a future population of food safety conscious consumers, helping to reduce rates of foodborne illness. School education of young people allows for targeted education to facilitate a future population of food safety conscious consumers, helping to reduce rates of foodborne illness. e-Bug [9]

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