Food hygiene knowledge in adolescents and young adults

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to utilise the comprehensive Food Safety Knowledge Instrument to compare food hygiene knowledge across a population of high school and university students in Australia and the UK. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 475 students from secondary schools and universities in Australia and the UK took part in a survey, which included a Food Safety Knowledge Instrument and demographic items. Findings – Food safety knowledge was generally very low. High school students had a mean score of only 38 per cent, while university students just reached a “pass” with a mean of 54 per cent. Demographics accounted for 41 per cent of variance in food knowledge scores. Female gender, being at university rather than high school, and living out of home rather than with parents were associated with greater food knowledge. Residing in Australia rather than the UK and being older were also associated with greater knowledge; however, these findings were subsumed by education group. Socio-economic status was not a significant predictor of food knowledge. Practical implications – Identifying demographic and cultural differences in food knowledge can help to identify at-risk populations to better target in theory and knowledge-based interventions. Originality/value – This study is the first to apply the knowledge instrument in an Australian population. Understanding the baseline knowledge in this population is an important first step at developing effective interventions for food safety.

Hygienic practices among food vendors in educational institutions in Ghana: the case of Konongo

With the booming street food industry in the developing world there is an urgent need to ensure food vendors adhere to hygienic practices to protect public health. This study assessed the adherence to food hygiene practices by food vendors in educational institutions in Konongo, Ghana. Structured questionnaires, extensive observation and interviews were used for the study involving 60 food vendors from 20 basic schools. Attributable to the influence of school authorities and the level of in-training of food vendors, the study points out that food vendors in educational institutions generally adhered to good food hygiene practices, namely, regular medical examination (93%), protection of food from flies and dust (55%); proper serving of food (100%); good hand hygiene (63%); and the use of personal protective clothing (52%). The training of food vendors on food hygiene, instead of the level of education had a significant association (p < 0.05) with crucial food hygiene practices such as medical examination, hand hygiene and protection of food from flies and dust. Further, regulatory bodies legally mandated to efficiently monitor the activities of food vendors lacked the adequate capacity to do so. The study proposes that efforts should be geared towards developing training programmes for food vendors as well as capacity building of the stakeholders.

Social ideological influences on food consumption and BMI

Social ideologies appeared to influence dietary behaviour, physical activity and BMI. These influences varied through different pathways in younger and older baby boomers. Studies provide insight into the segmentation of baby boomer population in relation to concrete social ideologies that could be used for policy development and effective health promotion.

Street vendors in Patna, India: understanding the socio-economic profile, livelihood and hygiene practices

Street food vending is fundamental to daily life in many low and middle income countries where much of the urban population rely on food provided by street vendors. While street vendors are known to be important providers of food; limited research has investigated vendor's hygiene practices and their socioeconomic circumstances in India. The aims of this study were to investigate the hygienic practices of food vendors and the context of their socioeconomic and living circumstances. Structured interviews were conducted with 31 street food vendors in Patna, India. The interviews explored issues around vending, hygiene practices, planning, and financial stability. Findings from this study indicate that food vendors are aware of good basic hygiene practices despite having low levels of literacy, low incomes, and limited job security.