Food Protection Trends - March/April 2021 - 225

TABLE 7. Results from the common food sources of foodborne disease pathogens scale

Rank

Total
possible
score

Questions

Correct answers
Mean

SD

1

Salmonella bacteria cause foodborne illnesses and are commonly found in chicken,
turkey, or eggs. How can these food items be made safe?
Answer: cook them thoroughly

1

0.85

0.36

2

Trichinosis is most likely associated with which food?
Answer: raw or undercooked pork

1

0.67

0.47

3

You may contaminate the food you touch with Salmonella bacteria if you don't wash your
hands after touching:
Answer: raw chicken

1

0.64

0.48

4

Harmful E. coli bacteria are most likely associated with which food?
Answer: raw or undercooked beef

1

0.60

0.49

5

Botulism is a disease that is most likely associated with:
Answer: canned foods

1

0.57

0.50

6

Staph (Staphylococcus) bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses are most likely associated with:
Answer: food prepared by cooks with their bare hands and then left at room temperature

1

0.27

0.45

7

Campylobacter bacteria are most likely associated with which food?
Answer: raw or undercooked poultry

1

0.14

0.34

8

Listeria bacteria are most likely associated with:
Answer: deli meats

1

0.12

0.33

Total

to be offered prior to camping, campers might more often use
standard food safety practices, which might then reduce the
incidence of foodborne illnesses during camping activities.
Food safety knowledge and age
No significant differences in overall food safety knowledge
were found among the age groups (P > 0.05) (Table 9), that
is, the total number of correct responses did not significantly
differ. However, campers in the 26- to 35-year age range had
the highest mean food safety knowledge score in four of the
six categories, although these differences were not significant.
However, the 46- to 55-year age group had a significantly
higher mean score (P < 0.05) on knowledge in time and
temperature category than did the youngest camper group.
These results indicated that the 26- to 35-year-old campers
had a slight advantage in food safety knowledge in most
categories, which may be helpful information for educators
when developing food safety education materials.

8

Food safety knowledge and ethnicity
A significant difference in food safety knowledge was found
based on ethnicity (Table 9). Respondents who identified as
Caucasian had the highest knowledge scores (20.99 ± 4.04)
(F (3, 256) = 4.16, P < 0.01). Respondents who identified
as Hispanic often incorrectly answered the questions
specifically related to identifying foods that increase the risk
of foodborne illnesses and common food pathogens.
Food safety knowledge and educational background
Significant differences in food safety knowledge were
found based on the educational background of participants
(Table 9). Respondents with some graduate or professional
work appeared to be overall more knowledgeable regarding
food safety than were respondents with less education.
Respondents with a high school diploma or less had the
lowest food safety scores (18.50 ± 3.54) followed by
respondents with a high school diploma (19.38 ± 3.48),
March/April Food Protection Trends

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Food Protection Trends - March/April 2021

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