Food Protection Trends - May/June 2014 - 159

TABLE 1. Knowledge Survey - pre- and post-test percent correct
Pre-Test % Correct

Post-Test % Correct

P-values

1. Chicken must be cooked to 150°F to be
served safely.

59%

79%

0.05

2. Ready-to-eat food such as frozen vegetables and
appetizers must be cooked to 135°F.

64%

74%

0.33

3. It is ok to mix batches of food that have been
cooked at different times.

68%

85%

0.21

4. Leftover foods are safe to eat if they are reheated
to 145°F.

85%

91%

0.7

5. It is safe to heat food by placing it directly into a
chafing dish or steam table.

88%

71%

0.26

6. After meat or poultry has been cooked, it is safe to
leave it at room temperature.

79%

88%

0.08

7. Hot foods should be held at a temperature of
135°F or above until they are served.

55%

59%

0.5

8. Refrigeration of foods completely stops the
growth of microorganisms.

91%

94%

0.5

Question

9. Cutting boards and knives do not have to be
sanitized in between cutting different food
products, such as vegetables and chicken.
10. It is ok to serve cooked chicken on the same
plate that held the raw chicken without washing
the plate.
11. You should wash your hands with hot,
soapy water for at least 20 seconds before
preparing food.

97%

100%

0.32

100%

97%

0.32

88%

97%

0.08

12. Wearing clean gloves is a substitute for
hand washing.

94%

85%

1

13. It is important to wear proper hair restraints
when preparing food.

94%

97%

0.5

Knowledge
Significant improvement in knowledge was observed after
training in the areas of cross contamination, temperature
control and hygiene (Table 1). However, overall the levels
of food safety knowledge were similar before and after the
training session. Paired t-tests were conducted to determine
the effectiveness of the food safety training on knowledge. In
some areas, the pre-test scores indicate that the respondents
already had adequate knowledge in those areas before
training. There was no significant improvement in overall
knowledge scores before (M = 0.861, SD = 0.152) and
after training (M = 0.859, SD = 0.123). Improvements in
knowledge in the areas of cross contamination, temperature
control and hygiene were also analyzed individually. For
temperature- related questions, a significant improvement
(P < 0.05) was seen between pre- (M = 0.642, SD = 0.105)

and post-training scores (M = 0.75, SD = 0.124) at P = 0.05
The mean scores of cross contamination pre-training (M
= 0.88, SD = 0.1767) and post-training (M = 0.94, SD =
0.0794) and hygiene pre-training (M = 0.92, SD = 0.0346)
and post-training (M = 0.93, SD = 0.0693) both increased
slightly, but neither were statistically significant (P = 0.2).
Proper time and temperature monitoring is one of the three
main areas evaluated in this study. Using thermometers
to check internal food temperature is an integral part of
minimizing the risk of foodborne illness. The use of a
thermometer to cook foods adequately has been ranked as
the number one intervention to prevent illnesses caused
by Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7,
Toxoplasma gondii, and Yersinia enterocolitica (8). Our results
show that, overall, the pre-test indicates that the area most
lacking with regard to knowledge and proper behavior was

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