ABSTRACT
A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify the importance of socio-environment towards food hygiene practices between urban and suburban adolescents. 400 respondents (200 from each school) between 13 and 17 years old were randomly selected to participate in a questionnaire survey. An independent sample t-test examined the impact of socio-environment on food hygiene practices among these urban and suburban adolescents. The test shows that there was no statistically significant difference between the impact (t = −0.314, df = 398, p > 0.001). Urban adolescents (M = 10.020, SD = 1.915) tested significantly equal to the suburban adolescents (M = 10.080, SD = 1.908). The study concludes that socio-environment does not affect food hygiene practices due to the increase in food hygiene awareness in schools and the government’s initiative in educating children about the importance of food hygiene from an early age.
