Food Safety Practices of Women Aged 18-65 Years: A Sample from Turkey

There are different practices for preparing, cooking and storing foods at home. These practices are generally attributed to women and food safety is an important point in these. The study aimed to determine the knowledge and attitudes of women aged 18-65 years in terms of food safety practices and to identify the lacking points. The study was conducted in 2015 in Konya (Turkey). The sample size was considered as 786. A survey including 44 questions prepared was practiced with the participants, using the face-to-face interview method. Descriptive statistics were summarized and appropriate statistical tests were used. The significance level was set as p<0.05. Of the women, 70.9% read the labels of the products. 70.5% of the participants cook every day and 89.1% paid attention to the hygiene of the place where foods are prepared and cooked and the utensils they use. 92.2% of the women did not know that the animal products that are not cooked at the appropriate time and heat could be potentially dangerous. 29.0% cut down the mouldy parts and use the rest. 72.9% of the participants chop the raw meat, chicken and fish, and vegetable and fruit in different chopping boards. The score of the married, the employed and homeowners was higher than others in terms of food safety practices. In this study, beside correct practices in some cases such as buying food, hygiene, there are some wrong practices in cases such as lack of information about potentially dangerous foods, chopping meat products and others on the same chopping board and cutting down the mouldy part of the product and using the rest. Considering the lack of information or mistakes that may result from habits in practice, believed that education and new studies should be carried out in order to inform and raise awareness in society.