College Students Food Safety Practices

Abstract

Safe food is an important issue that has been given global attention. It is critical for public health, socioeconomic stability and global commerce. Food borne illness can be serious or even fatal. Therefore, it is very important for college students to know and practice safe food consumption, preparation and handling. This study investigated various aspect of college student food safety practices. The information gathered will be used for the development of effective food safety education initiatives at Alcorn State University. Data were collected by means of face-to-face surveys. Analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Two hundred and eighty (280) students were surveyed with a response rate of 100 percent. Results indicate that respondents consisted of 6.4 percent white and 93.6 percent Black-African Americans. Over 52 percent of respondents were female and 47.5 percent were male. Approximately 36 percent were between the age of 30-39 and 37.1 percent were between 40-49 years of age. A majority of respondents strongly agreed that food safety begins with proper hand-washing and that practicing food safety helps maintain good health. This project provides an opportunity for the development and implementation of food safety education strategies to improve specific food safety behaviors.