This study was conducted to assess food safety knowledge of college students according to mass-media reports. To accomplish this, a survey was conducted to investigate the reliability, of primary mass-media sources on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy(BSE) as well as the preferences of college students. The most common sources of media consumed by male and female students were terrestrial television(TV)(60%), the internet(21%), and newspapers(11%) and terrestrial TV(60%), newspapers (18%), and the internet(17%), respectively. The preferences for media of major and non-major students were terrestrial TV(64%), newspapers(17%), and the internet(14%) and terrestrial TV(51%), the internet(22%), and newspapers(19%), respectively. The reliability of media as viewed by male students were as follows: terrestrial TV(53%) and the internet(40%), whereas for female students, these values were terrestrial TV(55%) and the internet(37%). The reliability of media as viewed by major and non-major students was as follows: terrestrial TV(67%) and the internet(28%), and terrestrial TV(44%) and the internet(44%), respectively. In the case of male students, the primary sources for information regarding BSE were terrestrial TV(54%) and the internet(38%), whereas for female students, the primary sources were terrestrial TV(57%) and internet (37%). In the case of major students, the primary sources for information regarding BSE were terrestrial TV(52%) and the Internet(40%), and for non-major students, the internet(47%) and terrestrial TV(39%). Both male and female students were found to have less knowledge regarding prions, SRM(Specified Risk Materials), MM(methionine-methionine) type genes, and cow above 30 months associated with BSE compared to the other factors associated with this disease. The BSE-related knowledge held by major and non-major students was revealed unknown more than the majority of responses. Based on these results, greater effort should be made to provide meaningful information to improve the food-safety knowledge of college students according to mass-media.

• 안창순 | Chang Soon Ahn