Effectiveness of an Online Food Safety Education Program for Early Childcare Staff

Farm‐to‐preschool (F2P) programs are increasing in popularity; however, food safety (FS) is an often overlooked component that can result in unintended risks, particularly for young children. Early childcare (ECC) staff play an important role in reducing the risk of foodborne illness for children. The aim of this project is to improve FS knowledge (FSK), attitudes (FSA), and practices (FSP) of ECC staff. A 5‐lesson asynchronous online course was developed including videos, interactive sharing boards, best practices planning tools, and resources. Online pre/posttest surveys were collected and included a 10‐item FSK tool and 6 item FSA assessment using a 5‐point Likert scale. Intentions to change FSP were assessed using an open‐ended question at posttest, and categorized to reflect key FS messages. T‐tests were performed on pretest (n=309)/posttest (n=173) FSK and FSA scores. Initial FSK was low (mean 6.54/10) but improved significantly (p<0.0001) at posttest (mean 7.99/10). FSA scores increased significantly (p<0.0004) by 1.5 points to a mean of 27 at posttest. More than half of respondents indicated they planned to change FSP with 39% of comments indicating changes to washing practices including washing hands and produce. Ten percent of comments related to cooling, such as using a thermometer and cooling foods in the refrigerator. Fewer than 10% cited cooking or separating foods as intended changes. One‐quarter of comments noted plans to increase F2P activities such as gardening. Thus, an online FS program addressing F2P food handling resulted in improvements in FSK and FSA among ECC staff, while increasing intended FSP and F2P actions. A follow‐up survey will be conducted to determine if planned changes result in self‐reported changes in FSP. Supported in part by a NIFSI grant from the USDA NIFA, Award 2011‐51110‐30996.