Parental views of food-safety education in a Japanese primary school

Abstract

Objective: This study examined Japanese mothers’ satisfaction with food-safety education in primary schools, compared the characteristics of mothers who were not satisfied, and identified topics that should be included in food-safety education, according to mothers. Design: An online survey was conducted in March 2011 in Japan. The questionnaire included topics related to food-safety education and satisfaction regarding food-safety education. Setting: Japanese mothers with children attending primary school were asked to complete an online questionnaire. Method: A total of 1,300 mothers completed questionnaires. The sample was divided into two groups according to median scores for satisfaction with food-safety education, and chi-square tests were used to compare data related to other questions. The numbers of mothers who selected each topic for inclusion in food-safety education were calculated. Results: Participants were divided into two groups; high satisfaction ( n = 796, 61.2%) and low satisfaction ( n = 504, 38.8%). The low-satisfaction group consisted of mothers who described government action related to the food-safety problem as ‘inadequate’ ( n = 305, 60.5%) and who disagreed with the notion that food items can be 100% safe ( n = 146, 29.0%). More than half of the mothers endorsed ‘judging freshness’, ‘reading food labels’, and ‘food additives’ as important topics to include in food-safety education. Conclusion: Japanese mothers who were not satisfied with food-safety education were more likely to consider government actions inadequate and to disagree with the notion that food items can be 100% safe. Mothers wanted schools to teach not only the prevention of food-borne illnesses but also other topics related to food safety.