Study on knowledge of food safety and hygiene practices among the students of farm universities in Karnataka state of India

<p>Shanabhoga M B, Shivani Dechamma, Manjuprakash and B Krishnamurthy</p>

doi:10 .4172/2327-4581.1000411

Study on knowledge of food safety and hygiene practices among the students of farm universities in Karnataka state of India

Shanabhoga M B, Shivani Dechamma, Manjuprakash and B Krishnamurthy

Department of Agricultural Extension, India

: J Food Nutr Disor

Abstract

Global occurrence of foodborne illnesses is of concerned importance for public health in both developed and developing countries. In a recent report provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), revealed that, one in ten people fall ill globally due to foodborne diseases, while more than 91 million people are affected in developing countries despite various research and intervention measures initiated towards food safety. Agriculture as a discipline plays a significant role in food security and safety. Among several courses taught in farm universities, Food Science and Nutrition which includes the importance of Food Safety. In this aspect, a study was conducted on food safety Knowledge, Attitudes and hygiene Practices (KAP) among the students of Farm Universities in Karnataka during 2018. The data was collected from 200 students of all the farm universities of Karnataka and the results are presented in this paper. It was observed that, the age and the gender had no effect on knowledge about food safety and hygiene practices. Also there was no significant difference (p>0.05) on food safety knowledge and hygiene practices among farm university students irrespective of the degree programme. A high level of food safety knowledge was observed among the participants (85.25%). However, the practice of food safety was above average (58.73%) while attitude toward food safety was high (71.84%). The results of the study conclude that, although there was a significant awareness of food safety knowledge among farm university students, there is a need for inclusion of few more courses on food science and nutrition to make the students to inculcate the good practices for food safety so as to avoid and prevent the foodborne diseases. Therefore, it could be concluded that there is a need for practical food safety education among the participants.