Determinants of self-reported food safety practices among youths: A cross-sectional online study in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of food safety practices and their determinants among youths in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
An online cross-sectional study was carried out among 1,178 students at a premier university in the city of Kuala Lumpur. A web-based questionnaire pertaining to food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices was e-mailed to all registered students.
Findings
This study found that 61.7 per cent of the respondents had good food safety practices, 89.7 per cent had fair knowledge and slightly less than half of them had positive attitudes regarding food safety. There was significant association between respondents’ attitudes and their food safety practices. No association was found between socio-demographic characteristics, year and field of study and their food safety practices. There was also no significant association between knowledge and food safety practices. Respondents with positive food safety attitudes had higher odds (OR=7.55, 95 per cent CI: 5.66, 10.07) for food safety practices compared to those with negative attitudes.
Research limitations/implications
As the study population consisted only of university students, the results may not be generalised to all youths in the country. Data collection using online self-reported questionnaires may cause misinterpretation. However, the questionnaire was validated and pilot tested prior to data collection. The results can be used in creating greater awareness of food safety practices, especially on positive attitudes among Malaysian youths.
Originality/value
This study describes self-reported food safety practices and their relationship with socio-demographic factors, knowledge, and attitudes of Malaysian university students.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
No conflict of interests declared. The authors are grateful to all the participants for their participation in the study. The approval from the University of Malaya for the conduct of the study is acknowledged. The study was funded by the University Malaya Research Grant (UMRG) No. RP003B-13BIO.
Citation
Moy, F.M., Alias, A.A., Jani, R., Abdul Halim, H. and Low, W.Y. (2018), "Determinants of self-reported food safety practices among youths: A cross-sectional online study in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia", British Food Journal, Vol. 120 No. 4, pp. 891-900. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-04-2017-0224
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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