| The knowledge and attitudes towards food safety and reported use of good production practices (GPP) were investigated among dairy, broiler chicken and niche-market producers in Canada. A mailed questionnaire was administered to all dairy producers enrolled in dairy herd improvement organizations in Canada in 2008. The response percentage was 20.9% (2185/10,474). Respondents who reported completion of a dairy-health management education course were less likely to support the availability of unpasteurized milk for consumers (OR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.60, 0.92) and more likely to be concerned about antimicrobial resistance (OR=1.37, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.69). Knowledge gaps were also identified (e.g. zoonotic potential of Brucella). Latent class analysis identified five groups of producers based on their reported use of GPP: "minimal", "sanitation-only", "employee-visitor hygiene", "typical" and "ideal" users (11.1%, 23.8%, 20.2%, 37.1 % and 7.7% of respondents, respectively). Respondents in the "ideal users" group used more GPP and were more likely to have completed an educational course in food safety compared to each other group.;A questionnaire was administered and 23 semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with niche-market (i.e. organic and small-scale) producers in Ontario during 2008-2009. In total, 575 questionnaires were collected. Disinfection of food animal drinking water and post-harvest produce wash water was reported by <40% of respondents. Primary themes identified in semi-structured interviews included concerns about imported products, suggestions to tailor on-farm food safety programs by farm scale and ensure that they are user-friendly and cost-recoverable, and the importance of producer education and government support.;Baseline estimates for the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards food safety were identified, which can be used to support future decision-making regarding food safety programs and education for producers.;Mailed and web-based questionnaires were administered to all broiler chicken producers registered in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec in 2008. The response percentage was 33.2% (642/1932). Greater than 80% and 21.1% of respondents indicated that Salmonella and Campylobacter , respectively, can be transmitted from chicken to humans. Respondents who rated the Safe, Safer, Safest program requirements as effective (70%) or easy (49%) to implement were more likely to report the use of five of six highly recommended GPP. |
