Skip to main content

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)
Back to article page

BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

Contact us