Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an educational program regarding food safety for children. The data were collected from the results of a self-administered questionnaire that was given to 510 6th grade elementary school students in the Youngnam region who had undergone a food safety education program. The results of this study were as follows. First, the educational need for food safety was high in each food safety category, with the educational need for prevention against foodborne illness being the highest of the 10 categories. On the basis of the study results, educational materials were developed which targeted personal hygiene, food labeling, food purchase, food washing, food storage, cooking, foodborne illness prevention, food additives, endocrine disruptors, and illegal foods. Additionally, about 37% of the respondents aswered that they preferred the food safety education to be conducted at home. Second, the food safety education significantly improved the levels of knowledge and behavior of children toward food safety. These results imply that food safety education that addresses the concerns of children and their parents' is needed to improve the level of knowledge and behavior toward food safety.
