higher on both the behavior and awa

higher on both the behavior and awareness questions but the difference was significant (p < 0.01) only for
awareness. Also, the food safety awareness median (15/50) and mode (20/50) scores were the same at the secondary
and tertiary level. There was no difference in the median (15/50) and mode (20/50) scores.
At the secondary school level 50% females and 6% males responded “yes” to seeing hearing and reading information
about food safety apart from this questionnaire. These students participated in Home Economics and
Food and Nutrition classes. At the tertiary level 21% males and 17% females also indicated “yes”. Of the n =
205 respondents 15% of the females and 11% of the males indicated “no” to seeing hearing and reading information
about food safety apart from this questionnaire and 13% females and 10% males indicated that they
cannot recall seeing, reading or hearing anything about food safety. Eighteen percent (18%) of respondents at
the tertiary level stated that they got food safety information from the television and the internet. Further analysis
as to where students heard or read information about food safety revealed that 36% of the females and 14%
of the males got information from various other sources such as the newspapers, books, parents and food labels.
At the secondary school level 52% of the female students and 5% of the male students indicated that they had
formal training in food safety or food preparation. At the tertiary level 56% of the males and 36% of females indicated
that they had formal training in food safety or food preparation. Participants were not scored on the
knowledge questions since these questions were structured to determine the participants’ self assessment of their
food safety knowledge. The self assessment of perceived food safety knowledge of 23% of females and 3% of
males respondents at the secondary and 7% of female and 12% male respondents at the tertiary level revealed
that that they felt that their knowledge base of food safety was “very good”. A further breakdown by gender
demonstrated that 43% of the females and 1% males at the secondary level together with 25% females and 27%
males at the tertiary felt that their food safety knowledge was “quite good”. The males at the tertiary level
showed a higher (p ≤ 0.05) perceived knowledge level than their female counterparts and the males at the secondary
level. The male students at the secondary level showed a significant lower knowledge level their female
counterparts with a difference of significant p < 0.05. There was no significance between the females at both institutions.
Overall at the secondary level the significant p < 0.05 female population and the significant p < 0.05
male population at the tertiary level showed that the knowledge base of these students reflected knowledge of
food safety issues.