충북지역 일부 대학생의 2011년 일본 원전 사고 이후 식품구매행동과 식품안전에 대한 인식 및 관련 교육에 대한 요구

Food Purchasing Behavior, Perception on Food Safety, and Need for Food Safety Education among College Students in Chungbuk Area after Japan's 2011 Nuclear Accident

The present study aimed to investigate the food purchasing behavior, the perception on food safety, and the need for food safety education among college students after Japan's 2011 nuclear accident. The subjects were a total of 187 college students in Chungbuk area. Major findings of this study were as follows: 1) the interest of the subjects on food safety-related issues were below a moderate level (2.9 out of 5 points), but the interest level of the subjects with an experience of taking food science major courses was higher than that of the subjects without such an experience (p<0.05); 2) the subjects perceived the adverse effects of the nuclear accident against food safety in a moderate to high level (3.7 out of 5 points), and they tended to be reluctant to purchase marine and agricultural foods; 3) the need of the subjects for the education on food safety was scored to 3.7 out of 5 points, and the need of the subjects with an experience of taking food science major courses was higher than that of the subjects without such an experience (p<0.05); 4) the subjects considered 'dietitian' and 'medical professionals' as the most appropriate educators for food safety-related issues, and such phenomenon was more pronounced among the subjects with an experience of taking food science major courses (p<0.05). The present study suggests that more courses or programs need to be developed and offered to college students in order to improve their understandings on food safety.