REPRESENTATION OF SHELLFISH IN NUTRITION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Školjkaši su važan dio prehrane i izvor zarade za mnoge stanovnike Republike Hrvatske zbog blizine Jadranskog mora i tradicijske prisutnosti u kulturi društva ovoga podneblja. Osnovni cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati povezanost znanja o školjkašima, tehnologiji njihovog uzgoja, nutritivnim i toksikološkim obilježjima s dobi, spolom, stupnjem obrazovanja i prehrambenim navikama konzumacije školjkaša na uzorku odraslih osoba iz opće populacije koji žive na području Republike Hrvatske. Za provođenje istraživanja koristio se anketni upitnik. Pitanja unutar upitnika podijeljena su na ona kojima su se doznale sociodemografske karakteristike sudionika u istraživanju i njihove prehrambene navike vezane uz konzumaciju školjaka te na ona kojima se ispitalo teorijsko znanje sudionika o školjkašima. Istraživanje je pokazalo da je zastupljenost školjaka u prehrani u Republici Hrvatskog relativno mala. Osobe starije od 40 godina češće konzumiraju školjke, no zastupljenostškoljaka u prehrani ne utječe na razinu znanja o školjkašima. Razina znanja o toksičnostima i nutritivnoj vrijednosti školjkaša veća je u odnosu na razinu znanja o tehnologiji njihovog uzgoja. Geografski čimbenici imaju veći utjecaj na razinu znanja o školjkašima u odnosu na sociodemografske čimbenike i prehrambene navike. Rezultati istraživanja potencijalno odražavaju potrebu za edukacijom opće populacije o školjkašima. Daljnja bi istraživanja trebala istražiti povezanost razine znanja o toksičnosti školjkaša i prijašnjih iskustava na reprezentativnom uzorku s većim brojem ispitanika.Shellfish are an important part of the diet and a source of income for many residents of the Republic of Croatia due to the proximity of the Adriatic Sea and the traditional presence in the culture of the society in this region. The main objective of this study was to examine the relationship between knowledge about shellfish, production technology, nutritional and toxicological characteristics with age, gender, level of education and eating habits of shellfish consumption in a sample of adults from the general population living in Croatia. A survey questionnaire was used to conduct the research. The questions within the questionnaire were divided into those that found out the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants in the research and their eating habits related to shellfish consumption, and those that examined the participants' theoretical knowledge about shellfish. The research showed that the presence of shellfish in the diet in the Republic of Croatia is relatively small. People over the age of 40 consume shellfish more often, but the presence of shellfish in the diet does not affect the level of knowledge about shellfish. The level of knowledge about the toxicities and nutritional value of shellfish is higher than the level of knowledge about the technology of their cultivation. Geographical factors have a greater impact on the level of knowledge about shellfish than sociodemographic factors and eating habits. These results potentially reflect the need to educate the general population about shellfish. Further research should investigate the relationship between the level of knowledge about shellfish toxicity and previous experiences on a representative sample with a larger number of subjects