Event Title
12. College Students’ Grocery Shopping Food Safety Practices During the Covid-19 Experience
Document Type
Poster Presentation
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Location
Online
Description
Background
Grocery shopping behaviors that support food safety among college students is not well documented. COVID-19 pandemic efforts related to hygiene practices may have improved these by increasing hand sanitizing, grocery cart cleansing, and altering food packaging and storage. Differences in practices have been identified among urban, suburban, and rural consumers, but not specifically in college-age students.
Purpose
To assess grocery shopping behaviors of college students during the COVID-19 experience.
Method
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Spring 2020 using network sampling of university students ≥ 18 years of age. A subset of the 89 questions was used for this study. Forty-six questions were scored to yield a total food safety practice score.
Results
There were 282 respondents: 21.4% urban, 52.4% suburban, and 26.1% from rural areas. Approximately 55% indicated responsibility for household grocery shopping. The majority purchased groceries from a supercenter with location, price, and quality of products identified as primary reasons for this choice. Chi-square tests revealed no significant difference in total food safety practice scores among residential areas, however, differences (p < 0.05) were found for individual behaviors related to poultry and meat selection, cart placement, and storage; produce selection and storage; and use of cooling bags. Cloth bags were used by 25% of students, with 3% following laundering recommendations.
Conclusions
College students report inadequate frequency of grocery shopping food safety practices despite the public emphasis on hygiene practices. Differences in specific behaviors among urban, suburban and rural college students may guide intervention efforts.
Recommended Citation
Yan, Connie; Koenig, Hannah; and Camel, Simone, "12. College Students’ Grocery Shopping Food Safety Practices During the Covid-19 Experience" (2021). Undergraduate Research Symposium. 17.
https://digitalcommons.latech.edu/undergraduate-research-symposium/2021/poster-presentations/17
12. College Students’ Grocery Shopping Food Safety Practices During the Covid-19 Experience
Online
Background
Grocery shopping behaviors that support food safety among college students is not well documented. COVID-19 pandemic efforts related to hygiene practices may have improved these by increasing hand sanitizing, grocery cart cleansing, and altering food packaging and storage. Differences in practices have been identified among urban, suburban, and rural consumers, but not specifically in college-age students.
Purpose
To assess grocery shopping behaviors of college students during the COVID-19 experience.
Method
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Spring 2020 using network sampling of university students ≥ 18 years of age. A subset of the 89 questions was used for this study. Forty-six questions were scored to yield a total food safety practice score.
Results
There were 282 respondents: 21.4% urban, 52.4% suburban, and 26.1% from rural areas. Approximately 55% indicated responsibility for household grocery shopping. The majority purchased groceries from a supercenter with location, price, and quality of products identified as primary reasons for this choice. Chi-square tests revealed no significant difference in total food safety practice scores among residential areas, however, differences (p < 0.05) were found for individual behaviors related to poultry and meat selection, cart placement, and storage; produce selection and storage; and use of cooling bags. Cloth bags were used by 25% of students, with 3% following laundering recommendations.
Conclusions
College students report inadequate frequency of grocery shopping food safety practices despite the public emphasis on hygiene practices. Differences in specific behaviors among urban, suburban and rural college students may guide intervention efforts.