The Effect of Food Safety Training on the Knowledge, Behavior/Attitude and Health of Fourth Graders and Their Parents

Education is an important part of a person\u27s daily life. Basic, fundamental skills for daily living should be part of this education. At present, there is no consistent type of food safety training given to all students in the United States public school system. The aforementioned food safety training should involve the basic skills of personal hygiene: including hand-washing; understanding bacteria, their ability to multiply, and travel into our homes and our refrigerators; proper temperatures of food products; and safe steps of food-handling. These safe steps of food handling include: safe cooling procedures, safe thawing procedures, and proper washing of all items purchased that are ready to eat or will receive no additional cooking. Experts in the fields of education and health recommend that this type of education is important and may assist in the reduction of avoidable illness. People die each year as a result of food-borne illnesses. To assist in the reduction of illness and possibly death, sanitation or food handling education seems worthy and it makes sense for all populations. This study analyzes the results of an implementation of a Food Safety Training Component for children. An instrument was developed to investigate the effect that such a training component would have on both the children taking the training themselves and for their parents in regard to the three dependent variables knowledge, behavior and attitude, and health. With increased focus by the media on the area of food and food-related hospitalizations and death, it would seem prudent to provide our children with the basic skills and knowledge necessary so they may protect themselves. This study investigates the possible effects of a Food Safety Training Component on children and their parents