Compliance With Food Safety Recommendations Among University Undergraduates: Application of the Health Belief Model

Compliance with food safety recommendations was assessed among 357 university undergraduates, 112 males (31%) and 245 females (69%), in the context of the health belief model. Concerning meats, 87% of the students complied with purchasing, 75% with storage, and 42% with preparation recommendations often/always. Compliance was high with recommended purchasing (96%) and storage (99%) practices for raw eggs, but only 55% of students prepared eggs safely. Overall, the health belief model was a poor predictor of compliance with food‐safety recommendations. Findings suggest that college students would benefit from interventions focusing on the causes of microbial food contamination and those that assist them in overcoming perceived barriers to adopting safe food‐handling practices. Also, validated instruments are needed to help family and consumer sciences educators identify college students who are noncompliant with food‐safety recommendations.