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Bahreini-Esfahani N, Ziaei H, Esfandiari Z. Effect of Education on Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Iranian Adult Population toward Food Additives. HSR 2021; 17 (3) :167-173
URL: http://hsr.mui.ac.ir/article-1-1227-en.html

Background: Nowadays, more than 2500 additives are added to foods to achieve the desired goals or to extend the shelf life. However, application of these substances has raised concerns about consumers’ health. It seems public information on these substances is inadequate. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of education on public awareness, attitude, and practice regarding food additives.
Methods: In this interventional study, 80 Iranian adult population who were chosen from personnel of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, were randomly assigned to two groups of case (n = 40) and control (n = 40). Face to face education was performed by pamphlet and booklet with the subject of introducing food additives. Demographic situation, knowledge, attitude, and practice of people regarding food additives were evaluated through self-administered questionnaire with the maximum score of 100 before and after education. The scores below and above 50 were considered weak and desirable, respectively. Quantitative and qualitative variables were analyzed based on the intended tests in SPSS software at the significance level of 0.05.
Findings: Before education, the scores of knowledge, attitude, and practice toward food additives in the control group were 73.1 ± 8.2, 48.9 ± 4.7, and 46.7 ± 5.4, while the scores were 73.7 ± 7.3, 48.2 ± 6.4, and 45.4 ± 7.8 in case group, respectively. In parallel, the scores were 73.9 ± 8.7, 48.1 ± 4.7, and 45.6 ± 7.3 after education in control group. The scores improved to 88.9 ± 2.3, 80.9 ± 3.7, and 75.9 ± 4.7, respectively, in the case group after education. A significant difference was observed between two groups in the mean scores of knowledge, attitude, and practice toward food additives.
Conclusion: The efficacy of education regarding food additives was observed in adult Iranian population. The level of knowledge, then the attitude and practice of employees had the highest score, respectively. Therefore, considering the lowest score related to practice, it is recommended to provide continuous education on food additives in order to improve the community's practice in choosing the proper food.