Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Nov 9;16(1):1147.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-3818-y.

Food safety knowledge of undergraduate students at a Canadian university: results of an online survey

Sarah M Courtney  1 , Shannon E Majowicz  2 , Joel A Dubin  1   3
Affiliations

Food safety knowledge of undergraduate students at a Canadian university: results of an online survey

Sarah M Courtney et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Foodborne diseases are an important public health issue, and young adults are an important demographic to target with food safety education. Our objective was to assess the food safety knowledge of undergraduate students at a Canadian university, to identify potential areas for such education.

Methods: In February 2015, we conducted an online survey of 485 undergraduate students at a university in Ontario, Canada. We assessed various food-related factors, including cooking frequency and prior food handling or preparation education. We then modeled the relationship between 'overall knowledge score' and the demographic and food skills/cooking experience predictors using multivariable log-binomial regression, to determine factors associated with relatively higher proportions of correct responses.

Results: Respondents were, on average, 20.5 years old, and the majority (64.8 %) lived off campus. Students cooked from basic ingredients infrequently, with 3 in 4 doing so a few times a year to never. Students averaged 6.2 correct answers to the 11 knowledge questions. Adjusting for other important covariates, older age and being a current food handler were associated with relatively higher knowledge, whereas working/volunteering in a hospital and infrequent cooking were associated with relatively lower knowledge. Males in the Faculty of Science had relatively higher knowledge than females in the Faculty of Science, both of whom had relatively higher knowledge than all students in other Faculties. Among students who had never taken a food preparation course, knowledge increased with self-reported cooking ability; however, among students who had taken such a course, knowledge was highest among those with low self-reported cooking ability.

Conclusions: Consistent with other similar studies, students in Faculties outside of the Faculty of Science, younger students, and those who cook infrequently could benefit from food safety education. Supporting improved hand hygiene, in particular clarifying hand washing versus hand sanitizing messages, may also be important. Universities can play a role in such education, including as part of preparing students for work or volunteer placements, or as general support for student health and success.

Keywords: Canada; Cooking; Food handling; Food poisoning; Food safety; Ontario; Young adult.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The relative proportion of correct answers to 11 food safety knowledge questions, by sex and Faculty, among University of Waterloo undergraduate student respondents (n = 485), adjusting for other demographic and food skills/experience predictors
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The relative proportion of the number of correct answers to 11 food safety knowledge questions, by self-reported cooking ability and whether or not respondents had ever taken a prior course in which they were taught to prepare or handle food, among University of Waterloo undergraduate student respondents (n = 485), adjusting for other demographic and food skills/experience predictors
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Havelaar AH, Kirk MD, Togerson PR, Gibb HJ, Hald T, Lake RJ, et al. World health organization global estimates and regional comparisons of the burden of foodborne disease in 2010. PLoS Med. 2015;12(12):e1001923. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001923. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Thomas MK, Murray R, Flockhart L, Pintar K, Pollari F, Fazil A, et al. Estimates of the burden of foodborne illness in Canada for 30 specified pathogens and unspecified agents, circa 2006. Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2013;10(7):639–48. doi: 10.1089/fpd.2012.1389. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Henson SJ, Majowicz SE, Masakure O, Sockett PN, MacDougall L, Edge VL, et al. Estimation of the costs of acute gastrointestinal illness in British Columbia, Canada. Int J Food Microbiol. 2008;127:43–52. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2008.06.007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Henson SJ, Majowicz SE, Masakure O, Sockett PN, MacDougall L, Edge VL, et al. Corrigendum to “Estimation of the costs of acute gastrointestinal illness in British Columbia, Canada”. Int J Food Microbiol. 2011;147:86. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2011.03.008. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Majowicz SE, McNab WB, Sockett P, Doré K, Edge VL, Buffett MC, et al. Burden and cost of gastroenteritis in a Canadian community. J Food Prot. 2006;69(3):651–9. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources