Knowledge,attitude and practice about food safety among college students

Objective To investigate the knowledge,attitude and practice(KAP) about food safety and its impact factors among college students in Shihezi University,and to provide reference for food safety education. Methods A total of 1 492 students were randomly selected form 17 colleges and surveyed with a questionnaire.Results The average score for food safety was 5.65±2.00 among the students.The average score of the medical students(5.77±1.87)was higher than that of the non-medical students(5.46±2.17),with a significant difference (Z=-2.51,P<0.05);the score of the female students (5.83±1.88)was significantly higher than that of the male students (5.39±2.13)(Z=-4.00,P<0.05);the score of Han students(5.79±1.97)was significantly higher than that of the minority students(5.01±1.99),(Z=-5.38,P<0.05).The students having taken food safety-related courses had a significantly higher score(5.98±2.00)than the students not taking the course(5.51±1.99)(Z=-2.67,P<0.05).Television and internet were the main ways for the students to access the information and knowledge about food safety.ConclusionThe knowledge about food safety is not high among college students.The specification,gender,ethnicity,and whether taking nutrition or food safety-related courses are the main influencing factors of KAP about food safety among college students.