Food safety knowledge and practice and its relationship with literacy: The case of rural women in Iran

Background: It is widely understood that most food-borne illness is associated with the inner home environment, and that therefore, the role of women in providing, storage and preparation of healthy food is very important. Given the lack of research on home food safety in Iran, this study focused on the knowledge and behavior towards food safety and its relationship with literacy among rural women. Methods: Data of this cross-sectional survey were collected through questionnaires. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by referring to university experts. The questionnaire reliability was evaluated by Cronbach's test (a=0.782). The study population consisted of rural women in the areas of Gonbad-e Kavous County in Golestan province, north of Iran. Using random cluster sampling, 385 women from 77 villages were studied. Descriptive statistics and t-test were used for analysis. Results: Knowledge and behavior of the studied rural women towards food safety could be assessed as good and fair respectively. There was no difference between literate and illiterate women in regard to food safety knowledge (t=1.72; P>0.05), but literate compared with illiterate rural women have in general better food safety behavior (t=2.16; P<0.05). Conclusion: The findings showed that literacy education can activate mechanisms that lead to food safety behavioral changes. However, there was no difference between literate and illiterate women in regard to food safety knowledge. It suggests that illiterate rural women, despite their inability to read and write, can find appropriate methods to learn about food safety issues

Farm Food Safety Practices in the North of Iran

Food safety begins on the farms and farmers play a crucial role in producing healthy food. Several factors were investigated here including water quality, labor health, health facilities, packaging and storage, transportation, fertilizers and solid organic materials, and field sanitation to reach more comprehensive results. So, 380 farmers were selected from 77 villages of rural areas of Gonbad-e Kavus County, north of Iran, using multistage random sampling. Data were collected by a questionnaire and analyzed with the SPSS18 software. Results showed that the score of the food safety practice index was above average and could be evaluated at a good level. Farmers had the best practice in “field sanitation” and the worst practice in “labor health”. Literate farmers had better food safety practices than illiterate farmers. The food safety practice index showed positive correlations with educational level and farmer income from other jobs. However, negative correlations were observed regarding farmer age, job experience and income from husbandry. It is suggested that educational programs and essential facilities are needed to enable farmers to adhere to farm food safety practices

Farm Food Safety Practices in the North of Iran

Food safety begins on the farms and farmers play a crucial role in producing healthy food. Several factors were investigated here including water quality, labor health, health facilities, packaging and storage, transportation, fertilizers and solid organic materials, and field sanitation to reach more comprehensive results. So, 380 farmers were selected from 77 villages of rural areas of Gonbad-e Kavus County, north of Iran, using multistage random sampling. Data were collected by a questionnaire and analyzed with the SPSS18 software. Results showed that the score of the food safety practice index was above average and could be evaluated at a good level. Farmers had the best practice in “field sanitation” and the worst practice in “labor health”. Literate farmers had better food safety practices than illiterate farmers. The food safety practice index showed positive correlations with educational level and farmer income from other jobs. However, negative correlations were observed regarding farmer age, job experience and income from husbandry. It is suggested that educational programs and essential facilities are needed to enable farmers to adhere to farm food safety practices