Elementary School Students' Knowledge, Behavior and Request for Education Method Associated with Food Safety

ABSTRACT

We investigated elementary school students' knowledge, behavior, experience and preference of education method related to food safety in order to provide basic information for food safety educational program. A survey study was conducted with 569, fourth and sixth grade students, from two schools in Seoul and Ulsan. Students were asked thirty-two questions regarding food safety knowledge, behavior and experiences as well as their attitude to food safety class and preference for teaching method. The data was analyzed for the frequency analysis, t-test, chi-square test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation using the SPSS/Windows. Results indicated that 91.9 percent of the respondents did not know what unsanitary food is. 67 percent of the respondents did not know the proper method of hand washing. Although the students' level of knowledge and behavior associated with food safety was low, there was meaningful correlation(r =.184, p<.01) between knowledge and behavior. Surprisingly, students in higher grade did not demonstrate an exceeding food safety knowledge and behavior. More than 50 percent of the subjects did not have food safety education either at home or school. 60 percent of the respondents interested in food safety and the majority recognized that a food safety education is needed. Students want to learn about unsanitary food(34.1%), foodborne illness(29.7%), food selection and storage method(21.3%), and personal hygiene(11.2%) through game, role play, and practice in real situation. These results suggest that development of food safety education program is needed through the elementary school year and the education program must include fun activities in which students can participate.