Vol. 12, Issue 5 (2023)

Author(s):
Kalyani Konch and Dr. Juliana Sarmah

Abstract:
The health and well-being of an individual, families and nation are obtained by the good quality hygienic diet. It is important that whatever we eat it reflects our health status of our body. To increase our lifetime and improve our health, always we must eat clean and hygienic diet. Food hygiene also prevents stomach infections and body illnesses. Disease spread through food still remains a common and persistent problem resulting in morbidity and mortality rate. Food can become contaminated at any point during harvesting, processing, storage, distribution, transportation and preparation. Our present research aimed to study the knowledge of homemakers regarding food hygiene. The present study was conducted in Dhemaji district of Assam. For selection of the sample, a random sampling technique was used. For selection of respondents, three numbers of homemakers belonged to well to do family, possessing at least a refrigerator were selected from each village by using simple random sampling method. Thus, all total 60 numbers of homemaker from the selected villages were the respondents for the present study. Six numbers of homemakers possessing at least a refrigerator were selected from each municipality ward by using simple random sampling method. Thus, all total 60 numbers of homemakers representing all the wards were the respondents for the present study. Thus, altogether, 120 numbers of homemakers from both rural and urban area of Dhemaji district were selected as respondents for assessing food hygiene knowledge. Our study concluded that nearly 62 percent of the respondents had medium level of knowledge on food hygiene. A higher percentage of respondents that is nearly 23 percent respondents had high knowledge on food hygiene. In rural area, more than 47 percent respondent had medium level of knowledge on food hygiene in all the stages. Not a single respondent had high knowledge on food hygiene in any stage except storage and pre-preparation. In urban area, more than 47 percent respondent had medium level of knowledge on food hygiene in all the stages. Nearly 30 percent and above urban respondents had high knowledge on food hygiene only in two stages such as storage and pre-preparation. There was highly positive significant relationship between knowledge of respondents and their independent variable such as educational qualification and mass media exposure. There was negatively significant relationship between knowledge of the respondents with independent variable such as age and family size.