The relationship between mature Kansans’ food safety knowledge and their concerns while eating away from home

Abstract

Foodborne illness is a serious health problem in the United States, and especially in the mature adult population. This research examined food safety knowledge of mature Kansans(aged 55 years and older) in three important constructs (handwashing, food handling, and food preparation), their knowledge of foodborne illness symptoms, and their food safety concerns while eating away from home. One-hundred and forty participants completed a self-administered questionnaire containing ten food safety knowledge questions representing sixty answer options. Replies to those questions were compared by age, gender, geographic location,and educational attainment. Results indicated that geographic location was statistically significantly related to food safety knowledge; however, age, gender, and education had little to moderate association. Additional findings revealed food safety knowledge was not associated with participants’ level of food safety concern while eating away from home. In conclusion, the findings revealed that mature Kansans possessed general food safety knowledge; however, some responses indicated mature adults did not fully understand certain food safety protocols. Areas identified as needing further attention included appropriate hand drying and surface cleaning, safe food and refrigerator temperatures, proper thawing practices, as well as safe leftover and melon preparation.