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Table 5 Odds ratios (and 95 % Confidence Intervals), for demographic and food skills predictors of correct answers for individual food safety knowledge questions, answered correctly by fewer than 50 % of respondents (n = 485); significant predictors are shown in bold

From: Food safety knowledge of undergraduate students at a Canadian university: results of an online survey

 

Leftover Storage Timea

Internal Cooking Temperatureb

Reheating Leftoversc

Cleaning Countersd

Age (in years)

0.94 (0.81, 1.09)

1.05 (0.91, 1.22)

1.39 (1.23. 1.56)

1.19 (0.90, 1.56)

Male sex (female = referent)

0.88 (0.45, 1.73)

1.69 (1.26, 2.26)

0.87 (0.58, 1.30)

0.99 (0.61, 1.60)

Faculty

Science

 

referent

  

 Applied Health Sciences

0.87 (0.65, 1.17)

0.65 (0.53, 0.80)

0.85 (0.74, 0.98)

0.99 (0.73, 1.35)

 Arts

0.59 (0.51, 0.67)

0.50 (0.45, 0.56)

0.51 (0.44, 0.59)

0.78 (0.63, 0.96)

 Engineering

0.95 (0.49, 1.86)

0.47 (0.36, 0.62)

0.76 (0.55, 1.05)

1.58 (1.35, 1.85)

 Environment

1.72 (1.34, 2.21)

0.29 (0.26, 0.33)

0.58 (0.46, 0.74)

1.24 (0.92, 1.68)

 Mathematics

0.52 (0.34, 0.81)

0.67 (0.56, 0.81)

1.41 (1.08, 1.85)

1.17 (0.97, 1.41)

Co-op program of study (regular program = referent)

1.00 (0.43, 2.37)

0.80 (0.51. 1.24)

1.12 (0.70, 1.80)

0.73 (0.57, 0.94)

Is a current food handler

5.46 (0.91, 32.8)

0.84 (0.38, 1.84)

0.31 (0.03, 2.89)

4.85 (1.41, 16.6)

Works or volunteers in a…

 …food service location

0.12 (0.03, 0.58)

1.92 (0.47, 7.90)

3.55 (0.57, 22.3)

0.35 (0.10, 1.25)

 …hospital

0.59 (0.34, 1.02)

1.08 (0.47, 2.48)

0.65 (0.20, 2.11)

0.61 (0.21, 1.79)

 …daycare/child care facility

0.88 (0.41, 1.88)

2.18 (1.12, 4.25)

0.89 (0.31, 2.55)

0.77 (0.28, 2.10)

 …long-term care/retirement home facility

2.66 (0.41, 17.5)

0.74 (0.17, 3.17)

0.81 (0.37, 1.76)

0.93 (0.20, 4.35)

 Has ever taken a previous food course

1.37 (0.96, 1.97)

0.93 (0.57, 1.52)

0.95 (0.75, 1.20)

0.66 (0.48, 0.91)

Current living arrangement

Living at home

referent

 Traditional-style residence

0.45 (0.24, 0.86)

0.49 (0.06, 3.80)

1.80 (0.92, 3.51)

2.10 (0.63, 6.96)

 Suite-style residence

0.31 (0.10, 0.97)

1.77 (0.70, 4.51)

2.80 (0.94, 8.40)

1.75 (0.63, 4.84)

 Living off campus

0.90 (0.72, 1.11)

1.36 (0.85, 2.17)

0.98 (0.50, 1.95)

0.92 (0.39, 2.21)

Frequency of cooking from basic ingredients

Never or a few times a year

referent

 A few times a month

1.93 (0.89, 4.18)

1.04 (0.63, 1.69)

0.88 (0.63, 1.22)

0.85 (0.68, 1.05)

 A few times a week or more

1.57 (0.78, 3.18)

2.08 (1.33, 3.25)

0.50 (0.31, 0.81)

0.46 (0.09, 2.29)

Good self-described cooking abilitye

1.50 (0.44, 5.18)

3.54 (1.88, 6.67)

0.82 (0.53, 1.27)

1.98 (0.55, 7.10)

  1. aHow long should leftovers be stored in the refrigerator?
  2. bAll foods (except whole poultry) are considered safe when cooked to an internal temperature of (select one)
  3. cTo prevent food poisoning, how long should leftover foods be heated?
  4. dWhich procedure for cleaning kitchen counter is best?
  5. eThose reporting the ability to cook the basics from scratch, prepare simple meals from a recipe, or cook almost anything (referent: those reporting they don’t know how to cook, or that they can only cook food when the instructions are on the box)
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BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

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