Development of Evaluation Indicators for a Children's Dietary Life Safety Index in Korea

ABSTRACT

This study was performed to develop a children's dietary life safety index required by the Special Act on Safety Management of Children's Dietary Life enacted in 2009. An analytical hierarchy process was used to obtain initial weights of dietary life safety evaluation indicators. The Delphi method was applied to develop the weights along with 98 food and nutrition professionals. Three representative policy indicators, nine strategy indicators, 11 main evaluation indicators, and 20 detailed evaluation indicators were selected for the children's dietary life safety assessment. Three policy indicators and nine strategy indicators were the following children's food safety indicator (support level of children' safety, safety management level of children's favorite foods, and safety management level of institutional food service), children's nutrition safety indicator (management level of missing meals and obesity, nutrition management level of children's favorite foods, and nutrition management level of institutional food service), and children's perception and practice level indicator ("Dietary Life Law" perception level, perception, and practice level for dietary life safety management, perception, and practice level for nutrition management). Weights of 40%, 40%, and 20% were given for the three representative policy indicators. The relative importance of nine strategic indicators, which were determined by the Delphi method is as follows For children's food safety, support level of children's safety, safety management level of children's favorite foods, and safety management level of institutional food service were given weights of 12%, 9%, and 19%, respectively. For children's nutrition safety, the missing meals and obesity management level, nutrition management level of children's favorite foods, and the nutrition management level of institutional food service were given weights of 13%, 11%, and 16%, respectively. The "Dietary Life Law" perception level, perception and practice level of dietary life safety management, and perception and practice level of nutrition management were given weights of 4%, 7%, and 9%, respectively.