Knowledge, Attitude and Practices on Food Safety of Indigenous Mothers of Kabacan, Cotabato

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Mothers fed their children according to what they know what's best for them and what's available in the society. Mothers should know how to prepare food for their children at home. Mothers must ensure that children's foods are safe, for children are incapable of identifying the foods that are safe for them. At the moment, there is limited information on knowledge, attitude, and practices on food safety of indigenous mothers. In this study, it aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practices on food safety of indigenous mothers at Kabacan, Cotabato.

METHODS

One hundred randomly selected indigenous mothers were involved in this study. The data were collected from different barangays in the municipality of Kabacan, Cotabato. The questionnaire was adapted from the study of Naina et al. (2016) to collect data on knowledge and practices,while questionnaire on attitude and practices on food safety was adapted from the study of Abdul-Mutalib et al. (2012). Regression analysis test was used to determine the influence of the independent variables.

RESULTS

Findings revealed that half of the respondents have an acceptable knowledge, the majority (75%) of them have an excellent attitude and good practices (96%) on levels of food safety. Additionally, the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents do not significantly influence the level of their knowledge, attitude, and practices on food safety. The availability of the kitchen facilities and supplies of the respondents were significantly influenced by their level of knowledge but it does not significantly influence the level of their attitude and practices on food safety. Only the food shows/cooking shows is found the best significant predictor of the level of knowledge on food safety. But in general, sources of information do not significantly influence their level of the knowledge level of attitude and level of practices.

DISCUSSIONS

The respondents have acceptable knowledge, excellent attitude and good practices on levels of food safety but, still, indigenous mothers need additional knowledge in keeping food safe.