How Does the Food Safety Knowledge of Student Dietitians Compare at a University in Wales, Lebanon and Ohio?

Abstract

Introduction: Registered dietitians (RDs) are the only healthcare professionals regulated by law to assess, diagnose and treat dietary/nutritional problems. Given that food needs to be safe and nutritious to maximize food-related health and wellbeing; food-safety is part of the dietetic-curriculum designed for the training of RDs. Despite this, gaps in RDs food-safety knowledge have been identified; furthermore, data detailing student-dietitians food safety knowledge is limited. Purpose: Assess and compare food safety knowledge of student-dietitians in three accredited dietetics programs in utilizing different food safety teaching strategies.

Methods: Food-safety questionnaires were completed by student-dietitians in accredited university programs in Beirut, Lebanon (n=30), Cardiff, UK (n=78) and Columbus, Ohio (n=104).

Results: From the 212 student-dietitians that participated, 79% recalled having received food-safety training/education, recall differed significantly (P<0.05) between institutions (Cardiff 100%; Beirut 97%;USA 58%). Student-dietitians in Cardiff participated in a one-day food safety training award, and students in Beirut attended food-service practicums and food-microbiology lectures, whereas in Ohio, students completed microbiology and foodservice sanitation courses, and 43% completed ServSafe certification. Foodborne pathogen awareness was different in all three regions (P<0.05). The awareness among students in Beirut was the lowest for each pathogen, students in Columbus had the highest awareness of Campylobacter and Clostridium while Cardiff students had the highest awareness of Listeria, E. coli and Staphylococcus. Although the majority indicated awareness of food-safety practices, significant differences were determined (p<0.05) by the institution. The majority of students (Beirut 100%; Ohio 99%; Cardiff 89%) were aware of the need to use a meat thermometer to check core temperature. Knowledge of the ‘use-by’ date indicating food safety was significantly greater among student-dietitians in Cardiff (81%) than student-dietitians in Beirut (30%) and Ohio (74%). Ohio students had the lowest awareness of cross-contamination practices such as washing raw poultry (39%), compared to Cardiff (75%) and Beirut (47%).

Significance: Differences between institutions may suggest teaching-approach affects knowledge retention. There is a need to determine the best practices in teaching student-dietitians food safety and explore the interpretation of dietetic curriculum requirements in institutions that deliver accredited training.