Dear Colleagues,

Eating behavior is a broad term that encompasses areas such as food choice, feeding practices, and food preparation. Inappropriate eating behavior can be related to such problems as obesity, eating disorders, and food-borne disease outbreaks. 

Although consumer awareness of food safety is still growing, there are some areas of unsatisfactory knowledge regarding food safety and inappropriate consumer practices. 

Consumers are an important link in the food safety chain. A large proportion of food-borne illness originates at home. In the European Union member states, over one-third of reported food-borne outbreaks of diseases for which there is strong evidence originated in households. Young people are an especially important group of consumers. Firstly, this is because they are the future of society. Children of school age can learn specific health-promoting behavior, even if they do not fully understand the connections between illness and their behaviors. Many good habits related to personal hygiene and the principles of food preparation and storage can be developed in this period. The second reason why it is important to target children is that young children are at higher risk of developing food-borne illness than adults due to their underdeveloped immune system, which has a limited ability to fight infections. Additionally, young people have limited control of their food safety risk because their meals are usually prepared by adults. 

In this Special Issue, we aim to focus on the current state of knowledge about food safety and eating behavior in different populations, especially among young people, and its relations to human health. Understanding the behavior of young consumers and the gaps in the education process in relation to food safety can lead to the development of appropriate educational programs that will help to combat outbreaks of food poisoning among children both now and in their adult lives. The food safety knowledge and eating behavior of consumers should be considered in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic as well as with regard to other aspects—for example, sustainable development and Agenda 2030 (goal 3). 

Dr. Marzena Tomaszewska
Dr. Beata Bilska
Guest Editors

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• food safety
• good hygiene
• food-borne illness
• eating behavior
• consumer behavior
• adolescents
• educational programs
• food spoilage
• food safety practice
• food safety knowledge
• attitudes