Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine whether food safety education increased knowledge and safe food handling practices among volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House in Houston, Texas. The Ronald McDonald House program provides bedrooms and daily meals for families with children that are being treated at the Texas Medical Center at little or no costs. Meals are prepared by a rotating core of volunteers on a daily basis.
Methods: For this study, thirty-four volunteers completed a pre-test questionnaire concerning their current knowledge and practice of safe food handling. Next, they attended two hour food safety training seminar which addressed the following topics: cross contamination, time and temperature practices, thermometer use, and proper personal hygiene. A post-test questionnaire was administered two months after attending the training seminar. Paired t-tests were conducted to determine if food safety knowledge and behaviors changed after attending the training seminar.
Results: While there was no significant change in overall knowledge scores before and after training, specific temperature-related questions showed a significant change in knowledge between the pre and post-training evaluations (M = .64, SD = .11; M = .75, SD = .12). There was a significant change in pre-test behavior compared to posttest food handling behavior at home (M = 3.12, SD = .85, M = 3.22, SD = .75) and at the Ronald McDonald House (M = 3.27, SD = .91) M = 3.43 SD = .82).
Significance: These findings indicate that even basic training can increase awareness which may in turn influence behavior. This study has provided the Ronald McDonald House with a basic framework for the development of a food safety culture among volunteers which may contribute to the reduction of risk of foodborne illness among immunocompromised individuals.