The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point(HACCP) system is an internationally accepted preventive program to prevent foodborne illnesses before they occur, It was revised from the Food Safety Code, which included the HACCP system in Korea, and emphas...
The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point(HACCP) system is an internationally accepted preventive program to prevent foodborne illnesses before they occur, It was revised from the Food Safety Code, which included the HACCP system in Korea, and emphasized the application of the HACCP system to food industries. The purpose ofthis study was to elucidate the HACCP system by analyzing questionnaires which examined the recognition of the HACCP system.
For this purpose, a self-developed questionnaires was distributed to 800 persons from Sep. 1st to 25th, 2006. Of the 707 collected questionnaires, 634 were used for statistical data after the exclusion of 73 incomplete questionnaires, Statistical data analysis was completed using the SAS 9.1 program. The survey analysis results were presented as frequencies and percentages. The χ² test and Fisher's exact test were used to test the similarity between the subject groups.
The study results can be summarized as follows;
Regarding the respondents' general characteristics, 38.17% were male and 61.83% were female, 56.47% were aged 21-25 years, 47.79% majored in Food science, and 64.91% were university students and 26.50% had a university diploma. Regarding specific qualifications, 17.98% possessed a cooking certification, 4.89% had a dietitian licence, 55.52% had a career in the food industry, and 36.91% had received a HACCP education. Regarding the recognition of HACCP, 74.29% had heard about HACCP, 68.93% recognized the HACCP symbol. The major sources of HACCP information in decreasing order were neighbors, textbook, others, and internet.
Regarding the term's definition, 82.65% of them did know correctly that HACCP means the Hazard analysis critical control point, while 79.02% stated that companies should undergo HACCP certification. 63.09 % had not received such education, 75.24 % indicated a need for HACCP education, 41.64% were willing to attend HACCP training, and 95.28% thought that the proper education fee was free or below 50,000 won.
These results did not differ significantly by gender. However, the respondents who majored in Food Science, had a cooking or dietitian licence, and had food industry experience presented a significantly higher recognition of HACCP and HACCP educationtimes than the others did(P<0.001).
Regarding consumer patterns, 40.85% of them had bought HACCP goods because of the increased trust in hygiene, while the others had not bought because of "difficult to find" or "lack of knowledge of HACCP". Most of them wanted to buy HACCP foods for the same price. These survey results suggested that HACCP is the most effective way to improve the level of food hygiene. This study showed a higher recognition rate and level of HACCP education experiences than formal studies, presumably due to the legislated promotion and adoption of HACCP. Further effort is required to expand the HACCP system, In order to enhance its recognition and create a more systematic HACCP system in the food industry, the correct recognition of HACCP needs to be accomplished along with a plan for a proper contents and methods of HACCP education.