Perceived Nutritional Status, Body Satisfaction and

Fad Dieting among Middle-Adolescent Students of the

University of the Philippines Rural High School
Sarah Marie A. Don a, Marjorie Anne A. Layosa a, Gemaima C. Evangelista a, and Liezl M. Atienza a *
a
Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Adolescents are at the stage when they are most influenced, and body image and satisfaction with
one’s appearance are formed. At the same time, exposure to health risks of under and overnutrition,
and unrealistic body image portrayed in the media and peers put adolescents into a vulnerable po-
sition to try popular quick strategies such as fad dieting to achieve their body goal. The objectives of
this study are to investigate prevalence of fad dieting among middle-adolescent students in Universi-
ty of the Philippine Rural High School (UP RHS) and determine the factors that influence its practice.
The practice of fad dieting, actual and perceived nutritional status (NS) among UP RHS students
were obtained through survey questionnaire and anthropometric measurements.

Results showed that there is a discrepancy between the actual and perceived NS of middle-adoles-
cent students. Despite having normal NS, some students perceive being underweight or overweight.
Body dissatisfaction was also observed despite students having normal NS, and dissatisfaction rates
increase among overweight students. Only 17% of the study population have tried fad dieting to lose
weight and an association was observed such that those who are fad dieters have normal and over-
weight perceived NS, and low body satisfaction.

This study has presented evidence that middle-adolescents students have engaged with fad diets
and other unhealthy dietary practices influenced by their perceived NS and body satisfaction. Nutri-
tional policies, assessment and interventions should be given importance to promote healthy lifestyle
and to prevent negative health effects among this age group in the long run.

Keywords: adolescence; body image; body satisfaction; fad diet

INTRODUCTION velopment in early adolescence from 11 to 14

years old, brain development in middle adoles-
Adolescence is the period between childhood cence from 14 to 17 years old, and emotional
and adulthood where physical, psychologi- stability in late adolescence from 17 to 19 years
cal, and social growth and development takes old (Salmela-Aro, 2011). Middle adolescence
place. Although these occur simultaneously all therefore is the stage where brain development
throughout adolescence, they can be further is prominent, the functional and the emotional
categorized according to when specific growth center develops which govern self-control, judg-
and development happens most – pubertal de- ment, emotions, and organization. The develop-

Issue No. 9 1
ment of body image is of particular concern be- One of the unhealthy eating behaviors is the
cause of these physical and cognitive changes practice of fad diets. Despite its increasing
in this period of growth (Voelker et al., 2015). popularity, a review study on four weight loss
Adolescents often derive self-esteem from their techniques show that there are limited studies
physical appearance resulting in body satisfac- that prove the benefits and long-term effects of
tion. Body satisfaction is a separate construct such diets (Obert, Pearlman, Obert, & Chapin,
from body image that denotes an investment in 2017). For instance, the increasing popularity
and concern with appearance (Grogan, 2006). and practice of fad diets such as the Atkin’s diet
The scrutiny in body shape often lead to feelings (AD) which is a low-carbohydrate fad diet, Inter-
of body dissatisfaction (Benowitz-Frederick et mittent Fasting (IF) which is a cycle between pe-
al., 2012). Body dissatisfaction is often the rea- riods of fasting and eating, and Ketogenic diet
son of weight management, and not as a result (KD) which is a high-fat, adequate-protein, and
of health concern (Lowry et al., 2000). Hence, low-carbohydrate diet, in the Philippines has
the importance of a healthy diet that supports alarmed the National Nutrition Council (NNC)
healthy body image should be emphasized in Governing Board resulting into releasing a poli-
this age group. cy statement (Resolution No. 4, Series of 2018)
(NNC, 2018) of not recommending fad diets for
Having a healthy diet is important during the ad- weight loss as it may pose potential health risk
olescent stage due to rapid growth. The 2016 and dangers.
National Nutrition Survey (NNS) (DOST-FNRI,
2016) in the Philippines reported that only 31% Having said that eating behaviors and practices
of the households were able to meet the 100% in the adolescent period are easily influenced
recommended energy intake. Although there by many factors, attempt of fad dieting has a
are still no available data on the intake of ad- great possibility. Thus, having concrete knowl-
olescents per se, anthropometric data showed edge on the prevalence and influences of those
that the mean weight and height of adolescents practicing such diets is of great importance to
aged 10-19 had increased from 2013 to 2015. properly assess, address, and prevent the risk
However, stunting remains a public health prob- for negative health effects in the long run. This is
lem, wasting and thinness remain as serious particularly important as there is knowledge gap
public health concerns, while overweight and on the prevalence of fad dieting among adoles-
obesity were increasing in prevalence in this cents in the Philippines.
age group.
The objectives of this study are to investigate
Factors that affect adolescent eating patterns prevalence of fad dieting among middle-ado-
and behaviors, either positively or negatively, lescent students in University of the Philippines
are mass media, body image, peer influences, Rural High School (UP RHS) and determine the
parental modeling and others due to psychoso- different factors influencing the practice of such.
cial and cognitive development (Brown & With-
erspoon, 2002). Some examples of poor eating
practices and behaviors are unhealthy weight METHODOLOGY
control and binge eating behaviors such as
meal skipping (WHO, 2016), using food substi- Data Collection
tutes, self-induced vomiting and taking dietary
pills (Neumark-Sztainer, 2009), and clinical eat- This cross-sectional study was conducted in UP
ing disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa and RHS located in Los Baños, Laguna. The respon-
Bulimia Nervosa (Rosen, 2010). dents were middle-adolescent students with
age ranging from 14 to 17 years old (Grades

2 January - December 2020

8 to 10). The sampling size (n) of 156 students said questionnaire was self-administered and
were calculated using the formula: distributed during school hours.

Data Analysis

Descriptive and inferential statistics were per-

formed using Microsoft Excel while visual pre-
sentations of data were generated using Sig-
maPlot 13.0 (Systat Software, Inc. San Diego
CA, USA). Survey and anthropometric data
where z is the z-score (1.96); p is the standard were separately analyzed due to confidentiali-
deviation (0.50); e is the margin of error (0.06); ty agreement with the respondents, as the an-
and N is the population size (372). However, thropometrics were done separately from the
only 93.6% response rate was recorded, and survey. Lastly, Pearson Chi-square statistic was
due to limited time, the study carried on with 147 used to analyze the association between the
students as the sampling size. practice of fad diets and the factors that may
influence its practice.
Informed consent was signed by each random-
ly selected respondents prior to data collection.
Two types of data were gathered for the pur- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
pose of this study – actual and perceived nu-
tritional status (NS), and the practice and influ- Actual and perceived nutritional status
ence of fad diets. For the NS, anthropometric
measurements such as weight and height were The anthropometric measurements showed that
measured during morning school hours using most (74%) of students had normal NS, howev-
bathroom scale and microtoise, respectively. er there was a high prevalence of overnutrition
Actual nutritional status was determined by 1) in the study population where 16% were over-
measuring weight and height using bathroom weight while 8% were obese (Table 1). Essen-
scale and microtoise, respectively; 2) calculat- tially, the 2016 NNS (FNRI, 2016) reported that
ing body mass index (BMI) using the formula overnutrition among adolescents aged 10 – 19
BMI=weight (kg)/height (m2); and 3) interpreting years have increased significantly throughout
BMI using the Centers for Disease Control and the years, from 8.3% in 2013 to 9.2% in 2015.
Prevention (CDC) BMI-for-age charts (Centers The interplay of overnutrition and exposures to
for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001). media and influence of peers put adolescents
into a vulnerable situation to attempt different di-
Whereas, a devised survey questionnaire was etary habits which sometimes are poor and dan-
used to obtain eating behavior of students while gerous to achieve body goals (Gungor, 2014). It
the practice and influence of fad diet was ob- has been noted that the risk of dieting increases
tained using adapted and modified fad diet with increasing degree of overnutrition (Whyte
questionnaire (Pedtke, 2001) with “pinggang et al., 2004). Interestingly, studies have shown
pinoy” for teens 13-18 years old as visual ref- that adolescents who try fad diets are more
erence of a balanced meal. It was pre-tested to likely caused by their body image and fatness
ensure the validity and reliability of the question- perception rather than their NS alone (Banjari,
naire in terms of the participants’ interpretation Čačić Kenjerić, Mandić, & Nedeljko, 2011).
of the questions and respondent burden. The

Issue No. 9 3
Table 1. Nutritional status of middle-adolescent Current Eating Behavior
students in UP RHS.
With regards to the current eating behavior, re-
Nutritional Status Number (n=147,%) sults showed that majority (42.2%) of the stu-
Underweight 3 (2%) dents still consume three, full balanced meals
Normal 109 (74%)
(Fig. 2). However, skipping of meals was highly
prevalent in the study population group, partic-
Overweight 23 (16%)
ularly the breakfast meal (32.0%). Some also
Obese 12 (8%)
restrict food items like the staple rice (12.9%) or
abstain from certain foods (2.0%), and replace
Our results showed the existing difference of
meals with shakes known as meal replace-
actual NS and perceived NS among middle-ad-
ment (MR) (2.7%). Only few reported to only
olescent students. As seen in Figure 1, the
drink water (1.4%). Further, it was observed
students’ perception of having normal NS was
that some students may skip meals and restrict
less than the actual proportion of having nor-
food items at the same time. The current eat-
mal NS (64 % vs 72%, respectively) (Fig. 1).
ing behavior of middle-adolescent students are
While there was a higher percentage of those
alarming because at such age, nutrient and en-
who perceived themselves as overweight (19%
ergy inadequacy are already foreseeable, and
perceived NS vs. 16% actual NS) and under-
studies have shown that unhealthy eating be-
weight (13% perceived NS vs. 2% actual NS),
haviors early in life is associated with adverse
than their actual NS. These results are similar
health consequences later in life (Borraccino et
with previous studies that showed the tendency
al., 2016).
of normal weight individuals to perceive them-
selves as heavier or lighter than their actual
status (Banjari et al., 2011; Neumark-Sztainer,
Wall et al., 2011; Scaglioni et al., 2011). Given
that perception of NS can greatly impact weight
management and dieting behaviours, the high
number of students that perceived their NS in-
correctly/inaccurately is quite alarming.

Figure 2. Current eating behavior of middle-ad-

olescent UP RHS students (n = 147).

In addition, our results showed that meal skip-

ping was the most common strategy to lose
weight (55.1%) (Fig. 3). Other activities to to
lose weight include low calorie diets (21.0%),
chewing gum (14.3%), drinking water (4.8%),
and vomiting (2.7%). Some distracts them-
Figure 1. The actual and perceived nutritional selves through physical activity (2.7%), using
status of middle-adolescent students of UP phone (0.7%) or sleeping (0.7%). Likewise,
RHS (n = 147). combinations of different activities to hold back
hunger or lose weight were noted. Generally, it
can be observed that middle-adolescents were

4 January - December 2020

already engaged with weight control behaviors ing overweight. Interestingly, among students
and practices which are considered unhealthy with perceived obese NS, majority (66.7%) were
and dangerous such as meal skipping, and satisfied while 33.4% were dissatisfied (16.7%)
vomiting, among others. and very dissatisfied (16.7%). These are consis-
tent with findings of studies which showed that
underweight adolescents have higher body sat-
isfaction than those who were normal and over-
weight (Kantanista et al., 2017) and that higher
BMI or obesity is associated with body size dis-
satisfaction, lower peer esteem and depression
(Mirza et al.,2005; Weinberger et al., 2016). For
the observed body satisfaction among obese
students, similar results were also observed in
the study of Benkeser, Biritwum and Hill (2012)
where majority of the subjects reporting satisfac-
tion with their body were overweight or obese.
Figure 3. Activities done by middle-adolescent
students of UP RHS to lose weight (n = 147).

Satisfaction with Perceived Nutritional

Status

Body image is one of the main factors affecting

the eating behaviors and practices of adoles-
cents. Similarly, body satisfaction is reported to
have inverse significant relationship with dieting
behavior (Mostafavi-Darani et al.,2013). In this
study, perceived nutritional status was used as
a proxy of body image. Hence, we evaluated Figure 4. Satisfaction and dissatisfaction of
the satisfaction of middle-adolescent students middle-adolescent UP RHS students on their
towards their perceived NS (Fig. 4). perceived nutritional status (n = 147).

Among students who perceived their NS as

normal, results showed that majority (77.%) Generally, results showed that body dissatisfac-
were at least satisfied with it (19.5% complete- tion was experienced by adolescents despite
ly satisfied, 57.6% satisfied), however, 22.8% having normal NS and such dissatisfaction
were dissatisfied despite the perception of hav- was higher among those with perceived over-
ing normal NS (18.5% dissatisfied, 4.3% very weight NS. This is relevant because studies
dissatisfied). While for students with perceived have shown that as the body dissatisfaction
underweight NS, majority (73.7%) were still increases, so is the desire to lose weight and
satisfied with it, while higher proportion of 21% try out weight loss and fad diets (Kim & Yeon,
dissatisfied and 5.3% very dissatisfied were 2017; Mirza et al., 2005). Furthermore, dieting is
observed. On the other hand, for students with prevalent even among adolescents with under-
perceived overweight NS, majority were not sat- weight and normal NS which strongly suggests
isfied (52% dissatisfied, 20% very dissatisfied) that body image is the motivating factor in this
while the remaining (28%) were satisfied of be- population (Whyte et al., 2004).

Issue No. 9 5
Results showed that 17% of the students have
tried fad diets to lose weight (Fig. 5). It was
expected that there would be more students
to try fad diets as this age group is most eas-
ily influenced in terms of eating behaviors and
practices (Salmela-Aro, 2011). Nonetheless, it
was found that the practice of fad dieting was
significantly associated with their perceived NS
(Table 2). Results further showed that most of
those who have practiced fad diets have normal
and overweight perceived NS.
Figure 5. Proportion of middle-adolescent UP
RHS students who have and have not tried fad
diets (n = 147).

Table 2. The relationship of perceived nutritional status and fad dieting.

PERCEIVED NUTRITIONAL STATUS

CATEGORY TOTAL
Obese OW Normal UW SUW
Fad Dieter 0 9 15 1 0 25
Non-Fad Dieter 6 16 78 19 1 120
TOTAL 6 25 93 20 1 145

* Pearson Chi-Square: 9.8047; P-value: 0.044; α = 5%

An association was also observed in terms Banjari et al., 2011; Bucchianeri et al., 2016).
of the satisfaction towards perceived NS and Similarly, our study showed that those who
fad dieting (Table 3). Supporting studies have have practiced fad diets have low body satis-
shown that body dissatisfaction is associated faction while those who have not practiced fad
with dieting and disordered eating behaviors diets have higher satisfaction rate with their per-
(Mirza et al., 2005; Rodgers & Chabrol, 2009; ceived NS (Table 3, Fig. 6).

Table 3. The relationship of body satisfaction and fad dieting.

BODY SATISFACTION
CATEGORY Completely TOTAL
Satisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
satisfied
Fad Dieter 3 8 9 5 25
Non-Fad Dieter 16 71 27 8 122
TOTAL 19 79 36 13 147

* Pearson Chi-Square: 9.8047; P-value: 0.044; α = 5%

6 January - December 2020

 Figure 6. Satisfaction and dissatisfaction of Figure 7. Fad diets tried by middle-adolescent
fad and non-fad dieters middle-adolescent UP UP RHS students (n = 147).
RHS students to their perceived nutritional (IF – intermittent fasting; KD – ketogenic diet;
status (n = 147). MR – meal replacement; AD – Atkin’s Diet)

Fad diets

Among the fad diets, majority of the middle-ad-

olescent students (69%) have tried intermittent
fasting (IF), 23% and 26% have tried the keto-
genic diet (KD) and meal replacement (MR), re-
spectively, while 12% have tried the Atkin’s diet
(AD) (Fig. 7). As observed, students have tried
more than one and/or combination of fad diets.
Skipping of meals was very prevalent among
the study group which may partly explain the
high prevalence of practicing IF which is a
Figure 8. Duration of adherence to fad diets by
characteristic of this fad diet. Meanwhile, only
middle-adolescent UP RHS students (n = 147).
few reported to practice AD although greater (IF – intermittent fasting; KD – ketogenic diet;
proportion was observed to have a no-rice and MR – meal replacement; AD – Atkin’s Diet)
meat-only diet (Fig. 2) which is a characteristic
of AD. Thus, it may be inferred that the students
may not be fully aware of their actual practice Our results show that very few students ad-
of fad diets. hered to fad diets for >3 months (IF- 2 out of 17;
KD- 1 out of 6; MR- 1 out of 7; AD- 0 out of 3)
The appeal of fad diets as quick-fix solution to (Fig. 8). Generally, it was observed that majority
weight management, as oppose to a perma- of the students adhered to fad diets for not more
nent plan of eating and exercising right, results than a month. Also, only in the IF group that ad-
to its popularity among the general population herence for more than 6 months was observed
(Pedtke, 2001). Hence, the duration of students’ while majority of the KD and AD groups only
adherence to each fad diets was investigated adhered for less than 3 months and less than
(Fig. 8). a week, respectively. This can be explained by

Issue No. 9 7
the fact that “dieting” to most suggests an in- month). This may partly explain the poor adher-
tentional, often temporary, change in eating to ence of most fad dieters as students may tend
achieve weight loss (Whyte et al., 2004). Fad to instantly give up on the fad diet as they deem
diets are also extremely restricting resulting to it ineffective based on their weight status. On
poor dietary adherence in addition to adoles- the other hand, 38.4% were reported to have
cents desiring fast results in short time. More- a sustained weight loss for more than a month.
over, adherence is improved with supervision This may reflect those who adhered to the fad
and social support (Lemstra et al., 2016) which diet for longer periods of time and/or practiced
are not emphasized with fad dieting. Despite the other weight loss strategies not covered by the
observed poor adherence of students to fad di- study.
eting, such dietary habit remains to be alarming
given that adolescent period is characterized Nonetheless, it was noted that students, in gen-
by dramatic physical growth and development eral, reported high degree of satisfaction with
which consequently result to increased needs fad diets (Fig. 10). Specifically, all who tried KD
for energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals were satisfied followed by AD, IF and MR. This
(Brown, 2011). Thus, their dietary habits should is despite the fact of their poor adherence and
allow them to constantly keep up with their in- weight loss results when going through fad di-
creased nutritional needs. To further understand eting. Therefore, their satisfaction or desirability
the adherence behavior of the fad dieters, the could be related to the extreme popularity of fad
duration of weight loss and their satisfaction to diets regardless of the results.
each fad diets were investigated (Fig. 9 and 10).

Figure 10. Satisfaction of middle-adolescent

UP RHS students to fad diets (n = 147). (IF –
intermittent fasting; KD – ketogenic diet; MR –
meal replacement; AD – Atkin’s Diet)

Figure 9. Duration of weight loss from fad CONCLUSION AND

dieting of middle-adolescent UP RHS students
(n = 147).
RECOMMENDATIONS
Overall, this study has presented evidence that
The duration of weight loss during their fad di- fad dieting among middle-adolescents students
eting is shown on Figure 9. Results showed exists. There is a difference on the actual and
that 26.9% of fad dieters did not experience perceived NS among middle-adolescent stu-
any weight loss, while 15.4% of fad dieters ex- dents wherein students tend to perceive their
perienced temporary weight loss (less than a NS as overweight or underweight despite hav-

8 January - December 2020

ing normal NS. Unhealthy eating behavior of Benowitz-Fredericks C.A., Garcia K., Massey
skipping meals especially breakfast, vomiting, M., Vasagar B., and Borzekowski D.L.
abstinence of certain food such as rice were ob- 2012. Bodyimage, eating disorders, and
served among the study population. Also, body the relationship to adolescent media
dissatisfaction was observed even with the per- use. Pediatr Clin North Am, 59(3), pp.
ception of having normal NS, and dissatisfaction 693-704.
increase with perceived overweight NS. Intermit-
tent fasting, ketogenic diet, meal replacement Borraccino, A., Lemma, P., Berchialla, P., Cap-
and Atkin’s diet were among the fad diets tried pello, N., Inchley, J., Dalmasso, P.,
by some students to lose weight. An association Charries, L., Cavallo, F., and Italian
was observed such that those who are fad diet- HSBC 2010 Group. 2016. Unhealthy
ers have normal and overweight perceived NS food consumption in adolescence: role
and low body satisfaction. Despite poor weight of sedentary behaviours and modifiers
loss and dietary adherence, majority of the stu- in 11-, 13- and 15-year-old Italians. Eur
dents reported their satisfaction with fad diets. J Public Health, 26(4), pp. 650-656.
Adolescents with inaccurate NS perception and
engaging in unhealthy dietary practices such Brown, J. E. (2011). Nutrition Through the Life
as fad dieting to lose weight were observed Cycle. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
in this study. Hence, it is recommended to in-
tensify nutrition education that would create Brown, J. D., and Witherspoon, E. M. 2002. The
behavioral change toward good perception of mass media and American adolescents’
their nutritional status and desirable dietary health. Journal of Adolescent Health,
habits among this age group as they are seen 31(6), pp. 153-170.
to be vulnerable to such fad diets and increased
risk to negative health effects later in life. Pro- Bucchianeri, M. M., Fernandes, N., Loth, K.,
motion of sustainable healthy diet and lifestyle Hannan, P. J., Eisenberg, M. E., and
habits including physical activity can be in- Neumark-Sztainer, D. 2016. Body
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well-being differ across race/ethnicity
in adolescent girls and boys? Cultur
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Issue No. 9 11
Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices on Protected Mealtimes
among Registered Nutritionist- Dietitians in Private
Tertiary Care Hospitals in Laguna
Tomee Vikki Lei R. Chua a *, Marie Faye R. Nguyen-Orca a, Irma U. Danao a
a
Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Hospital meal environment is often overlooked in terms of patient nutrition care management.
Protect­ed Mealtime (PM) is an initiative done by some countries to promote proper meal practices
in the hospital, in turn curtail hospital malnutrition. The study aimed to determine the knowledge,
attitude, and practices (KAP) of registered nutritionist-dietitians (RNDs) on PM in the province of
Laguna. There were nine (9) identified tertiary care hospitals in the province and out of the 24 RNDs
employed, 19 agreed to be part of the study. A pretested questionnaire was then used to determine
the KAP on PM of the respondents. The RNDs in the study were mostly aged 20-35 years old.
Around half of the respondents (58%) knew about the concept of PM and that PM-like practices are
employed as measures to improve the nutritional status of admitted patients. Most (84.21%) of the
respondents believed that PM is an effective way to alleviate hospital malnutrition. However, 58%
thought that it is not an efficient program. Several barriers and challenges were also identified by the
respondents. PM is indeed perceived as a valuable practice to curb malnutrition in the hospital, but
some hurdles should still be addressed. Whatever the practice or initiative, it is vital to acknowledge
the existence of hospital malnutrition and to realize ways to diminish it.

Keywords: hospital meal environment, nutrition care, protected mealtime

INTRODUCTION Admitted patients often miss multiple meals due

to feeling unwell or owing to the instructions of
Hospital malnutrition still remains and contin- medical procedures. This, fused with lack of
ues to exist as an unrecognized and underrated physical activity can lead to substantial mus-
problem. Because it is frequently ignored, there cle loss during periods of immobility (Holmes,
is inadequate intervention, which later on lead to 2019), which make the patients more vulnerable
the worsening of the patients’ nutritional status to malnutrition. Porter & Mitchell (2015) even
during hospitalization. Malnutrition in patients is observed energy deficits in the intake of patients
primarily because of poor dietary intake due to in sub-acute care leading to nutritional decline
disease-related metabolic changes and patient and longer lengths of stay. Several factors con-
dissatisfaction with the food served (Domin- tribute to hospital malnutrition that can either be
guez, 2013). Most of the time, this mal­nutrition personal or organizational (Cheung, Pizzola &
problem is attributed to the hospital food while Keller, 2013). In the study conducted by Domin-
the meal environment is often overlooked guez (2013) in the Philippines, it was noted that
(Hope, Ferguson, Reidlinger & Agarwal, 2016). nutrition did not seem to be included as part of
the patients’ routine care as evidenced by the

12 January - December 2020

lack of improvement of the nutritional status of of nutritional status (Holmes, 2019). Thus, it is
those with malnutrition during the course of their safe to say that dietitians are at the driving seat
confinement. in curbing hospital malnutrition. Given its execu-
tion and proven effectiveness in foreign coun-
Given that the present atmosphere at the wards tries, studying and researching about the pos-
during mealtimes is distracting, with interrup- sibility of its implementation in the Philippines,
tions such as taking blood samples that result based on the perspective of the professionals
to poor food intake, Protected Mealtime (PM) mainly involved in this intervention, can open
was initiated (Laur, McCullough, Davidson & this initiative to the Filipino public as a promising
Keller, 2015). PM aims to address the prob- approach to improve food intake.
lem of malnutrition in the hospital by increasing
positive interruptions (feeding assistance) and The study aims to evaluate the knowledge, at-
minimizing unnecessary interruptions (rounds titude, and practices (KAP) on PM of registered
and diagnostic procedures) during mealtimes nutritionist-dietitians (RNDs). This research can
(Porter, Haines & Truby, 2017). This interven- then prove its effectiveness and efficiency as a
tion encourages hospitals to stop all non-urgent nutrition intervention in the Philippines, which
clinical activity during mealtimes so that the pa- can later be applied to the hospital setting to
tients could eat their meals without interruptions help improve the nutrition, health and well-be-
(Cross & MacDonald, 2009). With PM, the im- ing of the Filipino patient. The study is limited
portance of mealtimes is emphasized with ded- to RNDs in private tertiary care hospitals in the
icated time for the service of food supporting province of Laguna. The hospitals under study
ward-based staff to concentrate on the nutrition- were limited to that of members of the Private
al needs of patients at mealtimes (NHS, 2019). Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc.
Hospital staff, visitors, and volunteers can also (PHAP, Inc.) to ensure that these are tertia-
assist patients with their meals, if needed. Pos- ry-level hospitals.
itive outcomes are documented. For instance, it
was noted that there was improved food intake
with additional staff, as well as just reorganizing METHODOLOGY
mealtime tasks to promote food intake (Young,
Mudge, Banks, Ross, & Daniels, 2013). Chang- The study employed a descriptive cross-sec-
ing both the mealtime practice and dining envi- tional design. Data gathering was done using a
ronment in hospitals can redefine mealtime as survey questionnaire containing both structured
an important nutritional activity (Edwards, Car- and unstructured questions. The population of
rier& Hopkinson, 2017). PM changes the orga- the study are RNDs employed in private tertia-
nizational structures of traditional mealtimes, to ry-level hospitals in Laguna that are members
establish positive mealtime experience and give of the PHAP, Inc. There were nine (9) hospitals
a better focus on the meal itself. PM is current- that satisfied the criteria with a total of 24 RNDs
ly implemented in the United Kingdom, Cana- employed. Complete enumeration of the target
da, and Australia (Porter et al, 2017). In these population was performed.
countries, nurses have been at the forefront of
this intervention. On the other hand, dietitians The survey questionnaire contained items to as-
who underwent specialized training in nutrition sess the KAP of nutrition interventions in hospi-
are able to focus on assessment and identifica- tal settings. There were twelve (12) knowledge
tion of patients at risk of malnutrition, resulting questions aimed to assess the awareness on
in prevention of malnutrition, and improvement the existence of malnutrition in hospitals, con-

Issue No. 9 13
tribution of hospitalization to malnutrition of pa- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
tients, nutrition interventions in hospitals, caus-
es of poor food intake of patients, the concept Participants
of PM and its implications. Whereas, twelve
(12) questions were included to determine the The KAP survey focused on the following issues
attitudes of RNDs on the importance of uninter- targeted by the PM initiative: hospital malnutri-
rupted mealtimes, the efficiency and effectivity tion, nutrition interventions, mealtime practices,
of PM if implemented, and lastly, PM imple- mealtime interruptions, and food intake. The
mentation tailored to the Filipino culture. PM or questionnaire administered also aimed to gain
PM-like practices of RNDs were also evaluated the opinion of the RNDs on PM. In the nine (9)
(12 questions). Aside from KAP questions, par- private tertiary-level hospitals in the province,
ticipants were also asked about their perceived there was a total of 24 RNDs employed. Among
advantages, disadvantages, barriers, and rec- those, two (8.33%) were absent for the entire
ommendations on the implementation of PM in duration of the study and three (12.5%) did not
the Philippines. Pre-testing of the questionnaire give their consent to participate, making a total
was done among RNDs of other tertiary care of 19 respondents where there was only one
hospitals to ensure the survey instrument’s va- male respondent. Majority of the respondents
lidity, comprehensibility, and language appropri- are comprised of young adults aged 20-35 years
ateness. old (84%) but there are some middle-aged re-
spondents as well (16%) as seen in Figure 1.
The survey conducted followed the standards
set by the Declaration of Helsinki where the re-
spondents were asked for their informed con-
sent by explaining to them the scope of their in-
volvement, the risks and benefits, confidentiality
and most importantly that their participation is
voluntary and they can withdraw any time they
please.

Data were encoded and statistically analyzed

using Microsoft Excel. Descriptive statistics
such as mean, standard deviation, minimum
and maximum values were used to describe de-
mographic characteristics and to determine the
KAP of the participants on PM. For knowledge,
each correct response to one of the 12 items
was valued as one, while incorrect responses
Figure 1. Age distribution of the RNDs employ­
were scored as zero. For attitudes, a score of 1
ed in the tertiary-level hospitals in Laguna
was given for strongly disagree, 2 for disagree,
3 for neutral, 4 for agree, and 5 for strongly
agree to items 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, and 10, while vice Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices on
versa of the score was given to items 3, 5, 7, 8, Protected Mealtimes
11, and 12. For practices (12 items), affirmative
responses were scored as one; otherwise they Twelve knowledge questions consisted of
were scored as zero. The frequencies of these items on hospital malnutrition, nutrition inter-
scores were then converted to percentages. ventions, mealtime practices and PM. Figure

14 January - December 2020

2 summarizes the results of the scores of the as PM to reduce hospital malnutrition. They
respondents corresponding to PM knowledge. have to edu­cate other staff, visitors, and peo-
Notably, 57.89% of the respondents knew ple that might be passing through the ward that
about PM. Moreover, 89.47% of the respon- the patients’ mealtime is an important time. For
dents were implement­ing PM as an initiative instance, in the study conducted by Huxtable &
to improve the nutritional status of the patient. Palmer (2013), foodservice staff was educated
Effective manage­ment of hospital malnutrition on the significance of proper placing of meal
entails an interdisciplinary team approach and trays in patient’s side tables and delivering and
leadership that promote open communication collecting trays in a way that maximized the time
among disci­plines (Tappenden et al, 2013). As provided to patients to eat. Knowledge transla-
follows, RNDs, as the nutrition experts, ought to tion is vital to foster cultural change in a way
convey their knowledge about proper diet and nutrition is prioritized in the hospital (Cheung et
eating practices and suggest interventions such al, 2013).

Figure 2. Knowledge of RNDs on PM and its implications

Twelve PM-related attitude items among RNDs patients (83.33%) and that PM is an effective
were assessed in the study questionnaire. A nutrition intervention (84.21%). However, only
good number of respondents (83.89%) believed 57.90% believed that PM is an efficient nutri-
that nutrition and mealtimes are important in tion intervention. Interestingly, only 31.58% be-
comparison to other demands and activities lieved that patients eat more if uninterrupted. A
such as taking medical drugs and diagnos- fair number of respondents perceived that PM
tic tests (Table 1). In the same way, they be- should be implemented in a manner tailored
lieved that all non-urgent procedures should to the Filipino culture (52.63%). The collective
be ceased while the patient is eating (84.22%). attitude of RNDs towards the PM initiative may
Also, positive attitude was noted when asked have stemmed from the prioritization of nutrition
whether PM improves outcomes for hospital in the healthcare system. Xia & McCutcheon

Issue No. 9 15
(2006) ascertained that nutrition issues ap- time pressures, tensions may rise between the
peared to receive less priority in the ward than delivery of patient centered care and the system
other nursing care activities. As described by in which this care is being delivered (Ottrey et
Ottrey et al, 2017, PM is an example of an inter- al, 2017; Ottery et al, 2020). Having a positive
vention that is not as straightforward as it may attitude towards PM is essential for it to work,
seem. Due to the factors such as attitudes and as this initiative focuses on what is in the best
awareness, the environment, leadership and interest of the patients.

Table 1. Attitude of respondents on PM

Percent (%)

Strongly Strongly
Disagree Neutral Agree
disagree agree

Comparable importance of nutrition and mealtimes to 0.00 0.00 11.11 38.89 50.00
diagnostic procedures
Cessation of non-urgent procedures during mealtime 0.00 0.00 15.79 42.11 42.11
Patients eat more food if uninterrupted 31.58 21.05 15.79 15.79 15.79
Patients should be allowed to eat their meals without 0.00 0.00 5.26 26.32 68.42
unnecessary interruption
Mealtimes should be protected in all hospitals 16.67 16.67 27.78 22.22 16.67
PM should be made available for patients and nursing 5.26 0.00 10.53 57.89 26.32
assistant
PM can be used to reduce food wastage 5.26 21.05 26.32 36.84 10.53
PM can be used to reduce patient complaints on 5.26 21.05 47.37 15.79 10.53
hospital food
PM improves outcomes for hospital patients 0.00 0.00 16.67 50.00 33.33
PM is an effective nutrition intervention 0.00 0.00 15.79 52.63 31.58
PM is an efficient nutrition intervention 5.26 10.53 26.32 47.37 10.53
PM should be implemented in a manner tailored to the 5.26 10.53 31.58 36.84 15.79
Filipino culture.

Twelve practice items in the questionnaire in- standably, most of the respondents do not per-
cluded the usual procedures done by RNDs in form tasks similar to those with PM or PM-like in
hospitals with PM. When assessed for PM or place in their hospitals. For instance, in the Mid
PM-like practices, it was found that on the ave­ Essex Hospital, there is a mealtime preparation
rage only 48.17% had ongoing practices (Fi­ bell which is rung at least 15 minutes before the
gure 3). In relation to practices, 88.89% stated meal service that signals the nursing team to
that they protect all patient meal service. The prepare and inform the patients on the mealtime
hospitals’ dietary departments being in charge and also alerts the other members of the team
of patient food delivery, play an immense role that non-urgent activities should be stopped
in protecting the patients’ mealtimes. The NHS and recommence only after the mealtime period
Foundation Trust (2019) stated that the timing (Mid Essex Hospital Trust-NHS, 2018). In the
and content of meals are important elements Philippines, the current practice is that the hos-
in supporting patients to eat well. In terms of pital dietitian runs the dietary department of the
informing staff on protecting mealtimes, only hospital where closest interface of this depart-
16.67% claim to be doing such a task. Under- ment to an admitted patient is when the dietary

16 January - December 2020

staff delivers meal to patients which rarely en- leaves it there without doing anything else (Xia
gage in any interaction. In most occasions, the & McCutcheon, 2006).
staff places the meal in front of the patient and

Figure 2. Practices of respondents that may enable PM

Insights on Protected Mealtimes properly is because of the constant presence

of people at the bedside (relatives and friends,
The participants were asked for their insights maintenance and cleaners, phlebotomists and
and perceptions on the advantages, disad- physiotherapists, and doctors). The participants
vantages, and barriers of PM as well as their recommended that PM must undergo meticu-
recommendations for implementation (Table lous planning and methodical implementation. It
2). The respondents were well-aware of the should be noted that, the practice of PM is not
benefits of PM particularly that it improves the only about informing through a display of sig-
eating patterns of patients that consequent- nage outside the wards or about saying “we are
ly may reduce the rate of hospital malnutrition going to start protected mealtime.” More so, the
cases and also the duration of hospital stay of respondents mentioned that a proper informa-
the patients. On the other hand, the RNDs in tion dissemination mechanism must be in place
the study mentioned that PM may delay medi- for extensive recognition of the initiative.
cal services (those that are deemed unneces-
sary by the initiative, such as diagnostic tests) Clearly, implementation of PM initiatives needs
and may cause inconvenience to some hospital a thorough understanding of both the complex
staff. The perceived barriers were chiefly about healthcare and food service systems. Efforts tar-
the reception and interests of those involved geted to address inadequate food intake in the
in the practice including the patients and their hospital should depart from strategies that man-
relatives, and the whole hospital staff. After all, age foodservice processes and nutritional care
one of the main reasons why patients do not eat as linear, instead, consider the complex interac-

Issue No. 9 17
tions that occur at mealtimes for patients’ nutri- care (Ottrey et al, 2018b) because, PM can only
tional intake to improve (Ottrey, Porter, Huggins, be successful with the combined efforts of the
& Palermo, 2017). Mealtimes can be made en- healthcare team. Circumstances within the do-
joyable and pleasant by allowing patients to eat mains of environmental context and resources,
in a peaceful and undisturbed surrounding and social influences, social or professional role and
with the quiet environment, the staff can totally identity and behavioral regulation played a part
focus on their patients’ eating needs. Economic to the implementation process at the individual,
consideration is another constraint that should team and organization­al levels (Porter & Ottrey,
be taken into account of. Managing hospital 2018). Hospitals that had most success in exe-
malnutrition demands cost-effective planning cuting PM supplied comprehensive staff educa-
and administration in addition to robust evidence tion about the initiative and gained cooperation
of physical outcomes (Mitchell & Porter, 2015). and support from all levels of staff, from ward
Ottrey and her associates (2018a) explored to management, entailing reworking their priori-
the perspectives and experience of volunteers ties around the mealtime periods (Cheung et al,
and visitors on the hospital wards at mealtime 2013). In the review conducted by the National
where they found that the hospital staff viewed Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) in 2007, it was
the volunteers and visitors as both assets, as pointed out that the critical success factors of
they contribute to patient care at mealtimes, and the PM were the trust (hospital) policy, promo-
liabilities because they inhibit patient progress tion, communication and leadership (Pennine
and staff work practices. For the hospital staff, Acute Hospitals HNS Trust, 2020). Moreover, a
hospitals should have effect­ive inter-profession­ multi-faceted system-level approach to nutrition
al collaboration. Healthcare organizations care, including changes to dietary and meal-
should attempt to build a culture that supports time practices was found to be associated with
staff from different professions to work togeth- measurable and sustained improvements in
er and prioritize mealtimes to improve nutrition nutrition­al intake (Young, Banks & Mudge,2018).

Table 2. Insights of the RNDs on the advantages, disadvantages, and barriers of PM and their
recommendations

Category Response
Advantages • can somewhat improve nutritional status of patients
• reduce the rate of hospital malnutrition cases
• give patients time to focus on eating without unnecessary interruptions
• develop healthy eating patterns
• eating behavior may be taken even after confinement
Disadvantages • tends to delay other medical services and procedures such as taking medicines and laboratory
tests
• maybe troublesome for most of the hospital staff
Barriers • Conflicting interests of patients, visitors (relatives), healthcare professionals and practitioners,
and the hospital staff
Recommendations • implementation must be planned thoroughly prior to widespread implementation
• there should be a team of healthcare professionals for this planning phase and it requires the
approval of the hospital administration
• if already in implementation phase, information dissemination must take place
• all hospital personnel must be aware of this initiative

18 January - December 2020

CONCLUSION AND achieve quality healthcare and to improve the
nutrition situation in the hospitals. Further study
RECOMMENDATIONS can also be done on the relation of improved
nutrition situation, length of hospital stay, read-
Nutrition is an important part of patient care. mission and hospital cost. RNDs should incor-
PM is a hospital nutrition intervention initiative porate the practices similar to PM in their daily
in England, Australia, and Canada, that has yet routines to better assist their patients. Although
to be implemented in the Philippines. PM is a RNDs play a valuable role in the development
patient-centered approach believed to be an ef- and documentation of PM, they are only one
fective measure against poor food intake, can facet to consider when it comes to the imple-
contribute to shorter hospital stay, and reduction mentation of PM in hospitals. The study was not
in patient malnutrition as it improves both meal- able to evaluate the ward team who has more
time experiences and patient care. This study direct contact to the patients during the confine-
aimed to evaluate the KAP on PM of RNDs in ment specifically during meal times. Further,
private tertiary care hospitals. These param- the Department of Health (DOH), as the over-
eters are believed to be essential to assess all steward and technical authority on health,
the possible implementation of PM in the local and being the national health policy-maker and
setting. This is the first study to be conducted regulatory institution, should be tapped as it can
in hospitals in Laguna, Philippines for this aim. mandate the development of national plans,
The simplest form of nutritional support is just technical standards, and guidelines on health.
to get patients to increase oral food intake. In addition, further research must be done in
Thus, it is the responsibility of RNDs, together order to gain better understanding and a more
with other healthcare professionals and hospital promising outcome to this nutrition intervention.
staff, to promote proper nutrition and to protect
mealtimes. The PM is a well-established initia-
tive from the UK where there is a different cul-
tural, social and economic condition compared REFERENCES
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PM should also consider those differences pri- Cheung, G., Pizzola, L., & Keller, H. (2013). Di-
or to implementation. Top management should etary, Food Service, and Mealtime
also be involved in this nutrition intervention to Interventions to Promote Food Intake in
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creation of a policy and working environment Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics
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mealtime practices, but also to have a positive stitutions. John Wiley and Sons Ltd.,
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may need to be conducted more frequently trition in a tertiary care hospital in Ba-
for an increase in awareness. Consequently, guio city. SAGE Open 2013: 1-7. DOI:
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standing of hospital malnutrition. In this way, all Assistance at mealtimes in hospital
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Issue No. 9 19
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Agarwal, E. (2016). “I don’t eat when Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(7-8),
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tas.2016.12.001 (2020). A longitudinal ethnographic
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Huxtable, S., Palmer, M. (2013). The effica- periences of change in nutrition care. J
cy of protected mealtimes in reducing Hum Nutr Diet. doi:10.1111/jhn.12734
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Issue No. 9 21
Assessment of Lactation Stations in the
University of the Philippines Los Baños
Jaidee P. Agne a *, Divine Grace C. Domingo b, Joan I. Delomen b, Leila S. Africa, PhD b
a
Science Education Institute, Department of Socience and Technology, Los Baños, Laguna
b
Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) has expressed its support for breastfeeding
promotion and setting up of lactation stations through the issuance of Memorandum No. 017, Series
of 2017. Despite the administration’s unwavering support, many units in UPLB still face challenges
in establishing lactation stations. This study generally aimed to provide a basis for recommendation
in establishing lactation stations in UPLB. Specifically, it aimed to identify units in UPLB with lactation
stations, assess the provisions supplied by units, and identify potential barriers to the establishment
of lactation stations. The assessment, which involved 78 out of 119 UPLB units from different col-
leges and offices, found that awareness on breastfeeding promotion did not necessarily translate to
the presence of lactation stations. Only eight (8) units had established lactation stations and offered
provisions. Despite the interest of various units in setting up lactation stations, disinterest observed
in some units were due to the lack of space, absence of plan or proposal, individual offices already
serving as lactation space, limited facilities, and few possible end-users. Overall, units with lactation
stations were able to offer provisions and amenities that made them operational, although these still
need further improvement. Hence, funding priorities must focus on units with existing lactation sta-
tions to improve provisions and amenities.

Keywords: breastfeeding, lactation station, readiness

INTRODUCTION administration of Chancellor Fernando C. San-

chez, Jr., has also conveyed its support through
The establishment of lactation stations, along the issuance of Memorandum No. 017 in Feb-
with the proper dispensation of lactation station ruary 2017. The memorandum encouraged all
provisions, is an integral component of breast- UPLB units to establish lactation stations and
feeding promotion in the workplace. The work- enhance the information dissemination cam-
place plays an important role in the successful paign on the benefits of breastfeeding, in sup-
transition of lactating mothers from postpartum port of the Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710)
to work resumption. In the Philippines, private and RA 10028 (Arana, 2017).
and public establishments are mandated to pro-
vide breastfeeding support to lactating women According to the World Health Organization, ex-
through the implementation of Republic Act clusive breastfeeding for the first six months of
(RA) No. 10028, also known as the “Breast- a child’s life is fundamental to achieve optimal
feeding Promotion Act of 2009.” The University growth, development, and health (National In-
of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), under the stitute of Child Health and Development, 2018).

22 January - December 2020

Breastfeeding offers various benefits to the administration in identifying the needs and re-
mother as well, such as reduced risk of ovarian quirements of each unit to set up a lactation sta-
and breast cancer, postpartum weight loss, and tion for possible future funding. More specifical-
delayed onset of post-partum period. Hence, ly, the study aimed to determine the UPLB units
positive workplace support is likely beneficial with lactation stations, identify lactation station
to both mother and child. Local research has provisions offered by UPLB units, and identify
shown that workplace support through lactation potential barriers to the establishment of lac-
stations influences breastfeeding duration of tation stations and dispensation of provisions
mothers with young children (Ocampo-Guirin- across UPLB units.
dola and Valdeabella-Maniego, 2018). Through
designated lactation areas, mothers are able to
express milk to provide for their child at home, METHODOLOGY
sustain milk supply, and relieve the discomfort
of a full breast (International Labor Organiza- Study population and sampling method
tion, 2015). Meanwhile, employers who support
breastfeeding also benefit from the presence of The target population consisted of UPLB units
a lactation station in terms of improved female that have childbearing female employees while
employee retention after maternity leave, earlier unit per office/college served as the unit of
and easier transition from postpartum to work analysis. The sampling frame used involved a
resumption, lower employee absenteeism and list of UPLB units with childbearing female em-
health costs due to better child health, improved ployees aged 15-45 years old provided by the
management-employee relationship, increased Human Resource and Development Office.
job productivity, and better employee satisfac- Furthermore, to facilitate the conduct of the
tion (International Labor Organization, 2012). assessment, the Office of the Chancellor (OC)
Despite the growing evidence supporting the released Memorandum No. 051, Series of 2019
positive implications of workplace support on calling for the participation of all units. Respon-
continued breastfeeding of lactating female em- dents were selected using purposive sampling,
ployees, the establishment of lactation stations which involved the enumeration of UPLB units
and dispensation of provisions face serious having female employees aged 15-45 years old.
challenges in the university setting. Across the The number of female employees and location
United States, not all colleges and universities of UPLB units were taken into consideration in
have designated spaces for breastfeeding and selecting the sampling frame. The exclusion cri-
most do not even have lactation policies (Bos- teria for this study were as follows: units with
tick et al., 2016). few female employees and units located outside
the campus. Out of 119 UPLB units, 78 (65.5%)
Seemingly, legislation and policies are not participated in the assessment (Table 1).
enough to effect change in the workplace. Fac-
tors that affect workplace capacity to set up Data Collection
lactation stations must also be identified to find
an appropriate solution in terms of support and The study administered a descriptive cross-sec-
implementation. tional survey to the sampling population to as-
sess existing lactation stations in their respective
In this context, the purpose of this assessment areas. Data collection was conducted from May
was to provide a basis for recommendation in to July 2019 using the paper-and-pen survey
establishing lactation stations in UPLB. Essen- method. Each unit was represented by a unit
tially, assessment results will assist the UPLB head or representative. A two-page question-

Issue No. 9 23
naire was used to obtain the unit’s information, Establishment of Baby-Friendly Workplace, and
composition, awareness on RA 10028, presence D) Comments and Recommendation. Questions
of lactation stations, lactation station provisions developed were adopted from the Department of
offered, and barriers to the installation of lacta- Health’s (DOH) lactation station accreditation list
tion station. The questionnaire was pretested form. A combination of open-ended, closed-end-
prior to the conduct of research. The question- ed, and multiple-choice questions were used to
naire was divided into four parts, as follows: A) assess UPLB units with and without lactation
Personal Information, B) Composition of Unit, C) stations.

Table 1. Percentage of UPLB units that participated in the assessment

No. of Units No. of Units

College/ Office per college/ who %
office participated
1. College of Agriculture and Food Science (CAFS) 14 9 64.3%
2. College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) 12 7 58.3%
3. College of Development Communication (CDC) 7 3 42.9%
4. College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT) 11 8 72.7%
5. College of Economics and Management (CEM) 7 4 57.1%
6. College of Forestry and Natural Resources (CFNR) 13 7 53.8%
7. College of Human Ecology (CHE) 6 4 66.7%
8. College of Public Affairs and Development (CPAF) 5 5 100.0%
9. College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) 8 3 37.5%
10. Graduate School (GS) 1 0 0.0%
11. Office of the Chancellor (OC) 6 3 42.9%
12. Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration (OVCA) 6 4 66.7%
13. Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) 7 6 85.7%
14. Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs (OVCCA) 5 5 100.0%
15. Office of the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development (OVCPD) 5 5 100.0%
16. Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension (OVCRE) 5 4 80.0%
17. School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM) 1 1 100%
TOTAL 119 78 65.5%

Data Analysis establishing lactation stations. Hence, the total

number of responses is more than the number
Data were analyzed using WPS Office Spread- of respondents. Responses to the open-ended
sheet. Frequency and percentage counts were questions were summarized and coded based
used to analyze the results of close-ended on similarities. All responses with the same
questions. For open-ended questions, a mul- meaning were grouped into a single category.
tiple response format was employed to deter- Data were then processed and proportions an-
mine the lactation station provisions offered by alyzed.
UPLB units and identify potential barriers to

24 January - December 2020

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION is identified as one of the facilitating factors in
the implementation of the said law.
Profile of UPLB Units
In a previous assessment conducted among fe-
In terms of employee size, majority (75.6%) of male employees and students in the university,
UPLB units were classified as medium-sized, female respondents recognized the importance
with 10 to 100 employees (Table 2). In terms of of breastfeeding and setting up of lactation sta-
the number of childbearing female employees tions. Only a few functional lactation stations,
within reproductive age, almost three-fourths however, are available in the university. Similar
(74.4%) of UPLB units surveyed only have 1 to findings were observed among colleges and
9 regular female employees fitting the criteria, universities across the United States. Aside
16.7% have 10 to 19 female employees, and from the lack of designated space for lactation
only 9% have 20 to 29 female employees. stations in US colleges and universities, majori-
ty do not have lactation policies as well (Bostick
et al., 2016).
Table 2. Percentage distribution of UPLB units
disaggregated by unit characteristics (i.e., clas-
sification by employee size and number of fe-
male employees), 2019

n (%)
Characteristics of UPLB Units (n=78)
A. Employee Size
Small (less than 10 16 (20.5%)
employees)
Medium (10 to 100 employees) 59 (75.6%)
Large (200 and more employees) 2 (2.6%)
No response 1 (1.3%)
B. Number of childbearing age female employees
1 to 9 58 (74.4%)
10 to 19 13 (16.7%)
20 to 29 7 (9.0%)
Figure 1. UPLB units’ awareness on RA 10028
and presence of lactation station (N = 119)

Awareness on the Enhanced Breastfeeding According to RA 10028, lactation stations are pri-
Promotion Act and Presence of Lactation vate, clean, sanitary, and well-ventilated rooms
Station in UPLB Units or areas in the workplace or public places where
nursing mothers can wash up, breastfeed, or
The findings of this study showed that the uni- express milk. This study revealed that only eight
versity’s deliberate efforts in breastfeeding (8) out of 78 UPLB unit-respondents have ex-
promotion seemed to have paid off in terms of isting lactation stations (Table 3). UPLB units
awareness. Regarding awareness on RA 10028 with lactation stations were the following: (1)
or the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act, College of Arts and Science – Institute of Com-
which provides for the establishment of lactation puter Science; (2-3) College of Human Ecology
stations, almost half (47.9%) of UPLB units were – Department of Social Development Services
informed of the said law (Figure 1). In a study and Institute of Human Nutrition and Food; (4)
conducted by Ramirez et al. (2017), awareness

Issue No. 9 25
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration for lactation stations, the management still sup-
– Supply and Property Management Office; (5) ports breastfeeding promotion initiatives in the
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Af- workplace. Lactating mothers were allowed to
fairs – Learning Resource Center; (6-7) Office express their milk and have lactation breaks.
of the Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs – Similar findings were also observed among
University Health Service and Business Affairs non-hospital employers and companies in New
Office; (8) and Office of the Vice Chancellor for Jersey and Michigan (Bai et al., 2015; Hojnacki
Planning and Development – Land Grant Man- et al., 2012). While this may be the case, set-
agement Office. ting up lactation stations is not as complicated
as it seems. Offices can adopt different lacta-
tion station prototypes despite the absence of
Table 3. Number and percentage of UPLB
a designated room while still meeting the basic
units with lactation station per college or office
requirements.

No. of Total Num-

College/ Units with ber of Unit Percent- Lactation Station Provisions Offered
Office Lactation Respon- age
Station dents
1. CAFS 0 9 0%
Figure 2 illustrates the lactation station ameni-
ties provided by UPLB units. Although only eight
2. CAS 1 7 14%
(8) UPLB units had lactation stations, 11 units
3. CDC 0 3 0%
(including those without a designated lactation
4. CEAT 0 8 0%
station) stated that they offer provisions. Major-
5. CEM 0 4 0% ity of these units have corner areas with pro-
6. CFNR 0 7 0% vision for privacy (90.9%); are well-ventilated,
7. CHE 2 4 50% well-lighted, and free from harmful substances
8. CPAF 0 5 0% (60.0%); and have handwashing facilities and
9. CVM 0 3 0% electrical outlets (60.0%). Further, only half of
10. GS 0 0 0% UPLB units (50.0%) with facilities for lactation
11. OC 0 3 0% stations have a breastfeeding policy posted in-
side the room, while only a few (30.0%) have
12. OVCA 1 4 25%
cooling units exclusively for pumped breast
13. OVCAA 1 6 17%
milk. Some respondents also mentioned that
14. OVCCA 2 5 40%
they were not aware (10%) of the basic provi-
15. OVCPD 1 5 20%
sions.
16. OVCRE 0 4 0%
17. SESAM 0 1 0% Among the basic lactation station provisions,
breastfeeding policy is one of the contributing
factors to the successful implementation of
Despite the low number of lactation stations in
lactation stations. It is also essential to guide
the university, some UPLB units were found to
end-users on the provisions and usage of lac-
offer lactation station provisions in the absence
tation stations. Findings revealed, however,
of a dedicated private room for breastfeeding
that only few UPLB units have breastfeeding
employees. In relation to this, some units have
policy posted. Posting of breastfeeding policy
a private corner area for milk expression. Appar-
is particularly important since it constitutes a
ently, this setup is not uncommon at all. This im-
form of communication between employers and
plies that despite the lack of a dedicated space
employees on breastfeeding initiatives. It also

26 January - December 2020

validates support from the management, secure the stations operational, although these still
the rights of lactating employees, and influence need further improvement.
initiation rates of breastfeeding among work-
ing mothers (Dodgson et al., 2004; Chen et al., Despite the absence of lactation stations in
2006). Hence, to have an effective breastfeed- most UPLB units, more than half of respondents
ing policy, it is essential to develop a detailed (52.5%) expressed their interest in setting up
policy incorporating schedule, frequency of us- lactation stations. Some even indicated possi-
age, and responsibilities of stakeholders in the ble lactation station provisions that they hoped
maintenance of the said facility (Payton et al., to offer. Likewise, majority of respondents indi-
2019). In terms of location, results of the as- cated their desire to provide a designated area
sessment showed that some lactation stations with handwashing facilities, cooling units, and
were located near toilet facilities. In the past, furniture. Other interested units, however, in-
the inappropriate practice of arranging toilet fa- dicated that they still need the management’s
cilities as lactation stations sparked indignation approval.
among lactating mothers due to the exposure
of mother and child to unsanitary feeding envi- Potential Barriers of Establishing Lactation
ronment. Hence, the relocation of lactation sta- Stations
tions should be considered if it is near or inside
a toilet facility. Other provisions identified in this Some UPLB units (22.7%) indicated that they
study include provisions for electrical outlets, were not keen on setting up lactation stations
handwashing facilities, and cooling units, which because of inadequate room and spaces
are also essential amenities to ensure clean and (37.0%), no plan or proposal on installation
hygienic pumping and storage of breast milk. of lactation stations (25.9%), limited facilities
(3.7%), individual offices already serving as lac-
tation stations (3.7%), and low number of pos-
sible end-users due to employees having older
children or no children at all (3.7%). In the as-
sessment, reasons for disinterest revealed the
units’ priorities in terms of structural capacity.
On the positive side, more than half of UPLB
units wanted to have their lactation stations ac-
credited.

The limited structural capacity of units was one

Figure 2. Basic lactation station provisions of- of the major factors that hinder the establish-
fered by UPLB units with and without lactation ment of lactation stations. This was also ob-
station. served in similar studies by Brown et al. (2001),
Libbus and Bullock (2002), Writters-Green
(2003), and Dunn et al. (2004) (as cited in Bai
Results revealed that other provisions were
et al., 2012). Hence, to promote breastfeeding
also supplied, including the conduct of seminars
practices in the workplace, it is essential to re-
encouraging mothers to breastfeed (30.0%),
organize physical facilities and workplace set-
implementation of lactation breaks (20.0%),
ting. Physical facilities are not only limited to the
breastfeeding orientation (10.0%), and pres-
provision of a private designated area, but also
ence of breastfeeding support group (10.0%).
include amenities discussed earlier. Lack of fa-
Overall, UPLB units with lactation stations were
cilities is also considered a barrier to creating a
able to offer provisions and amenities that made

Issue No. 9 27
mother-baby friendly environment, as observed colleagues. Apparently, this is a common setup
in multiple studies by Brown et al. (2001), Lib- in units with limited space. In a study conducted
bus and Bullock (2002), Writters-Green (2003), by Fernandes (2016), employers stressed that
and Dunn et al. (2004) (as cited in Bai et al., the solution for limited space is the adoption of a
2012). It is also important to consider, however, multipurpose space; hence, a room that is not in
that the capacity of the unit to set up a lactation use can also serve as a lactation station.
station and provide amenities is also affected by
financial constraints (Siregar et al., 2019). Overcoming potential barriers paves the way to
the installation of lactation stations with ameni-
Furthermore, the absence of plans or proposals ties that can be utilized by stakeholders. In a
to set up lactation stations supports the previ- study conducted by Ocampo-Guirindola and
ously discussed notion that the awareness of Valdeabella-Maniego (2018), workplace support
university management and stakeholders on through the utilization of lactation stations had
breastfeeding legislation did not necessarily significant positive influence on breastfeeding
translate to compliance. In an integrative re- duration of mothers with young children. Having
view, organizational factor is one of the barriers a designated lactation station also allows work-
to successful implementation of baby-friendly ing mothers to express milk to provide for her
initiative in the hospital, community, and neona- child at home, sustain milk supply, and relieve
tal intensive care unit settings (Semenic et al., the discomfort of a full breast (International La-
2012). Similarly, in units with no plans of estab- bor Organization, 2015).
lishing lactation stations, lack of administrative
support in terms of organizational priority at the The study also found that UPLB units had di-
unit level may have been a contributing factor vided thoughts on accrediting lactation stations.
(Semenic et al., 2012). It should also be noted Results revealed that 45 (37.8%) UPLB units
that establishments can avail of a two-year ex- were interested in applying for a mother-baby
emption from establishing lactation stations if friendly workplace certification granted by the
there are no lactating or pregnant employees DOH, in partnership with World Vision. The said
and no female clients visit or transact with the certification aims to promote and encourage
establishment (Department of Labor and Em- breastfeeding in both private and public sec-
ployment, 2015). Indeed, the exemption from tors. Under the certification, a lactation station
establishing lactation stations due to low or should meet certification criteria and standards
no end-users justified the lack of plan of some defined by the DOH (Official Gazette, 2012).
UPLB units. Interestingly, a similar study con- The remaining 16 (13.4%) UPLB units that were
ducted among managers of private and public not interested in accreditation stated that it was
companies in Brazil also indicated that lack of not among their priorities due to limited and
demand in terms of end-users influences the temporary space, management directive (i.e.,
need for setting up lactation stations (Fernandes should be at the college-level implementation),
et al., 2016). Hence, if there is no demand, there absence of facility, no current set-up, inessen-
is no need to set up one. Considering the to- tiality, and limited awareness on accreditation.
pography of the university, setting up of lactation
stations in all units may not be feasible due to Overall, while the assessment extracted es-
inaccessibility. Meanwhile, some units seemed sential data to establish an initial understand-
indifferent to the idea of a designated lactation ing of the needs and perceptions of UPLB units
room since they already have been practicing on the installation of lactation stations, the lack
shared breastfeeding spaces, wherein lactating of local studies related to lactation stations in
mothers can express milk in offices shared with the university setting is considered a limitation.

28 January - December 2020

This could have been helpful in enriching the priorities should be geared towards providing
discussion in this paper. In general, the study assistance to existing lactation stations for the
identified eight (8) UPLB units with lactation sta- enhancement of amenities, accreditation, and
tions and three (3) additional units that offered installation of basic lactation station prototypes
provisions despite the absence of a designated in accessible areas with the largest number of
lactation station. The basic lactation station pro- stakeholders.
visions supplied by these units included corner
areas with provision for privacy; well-ventilated, In terms of lactation station installation in the
well-lighted rooms that are free from harmful university, UPLB units with limited space can
substances; handwashing facilities and elec- adopt DOH lactation station prototypes based
trical outlets; posted breastfeeding policy; and on their structure and capacity. However, it is
cooling units. For some units with no lactation still advised that large universities install sev-
stations, the potential barriers to dispensing eral lactation stations to minimize walking dis-
lactation station provisions included inadequate tance (International Labor Organization, 2015).
space, absence of plans or proposals, limited Hence, establishing common lactation stations
facility, presence of a makeshift lactation area, in areas with the largest number of stakehold-
and low number of possible end-users. ers is preferred. Furthermore, it is also ideal
that lactation stations should not be more than
five minutes of walking distance (Basu, 2012).
CONCLUSION AND Finally, lactation stations must satisfy DOH re-
RECOMMENDATIONS quirements, and the accreditation of existing
lactation stations in the university as part of the
Despite the high level of awareness on lacta- Mother-Baby Friendly Workplace Initiative is an
tion stations in UPLB, only a few units of the important step towards this direction.
university have established such private spaces
for nursing mothers. The absence of a designat-
ed lactation station notwithstanding, some units REFERENCES
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(e.g., designating private corner areas that Arana, J.S. (2017). UPLB advocates installation
are well-ventilated, well-lighted, and free from of lactation stations in the campus. Re-
harmful substances; availability of handwashing trieved from https://legacy.uplb.edu.ph/
facilities, cooling units, and electrical outlets; component/k2/784-uplb-advocates-in-
and posting breastfeeding policy). Various fac- stallation-of-lactation-stations-in-cam-
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constraints in this study. Given these findings, it New Jersey employers following US
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installed a sustainable lactation station setup. ers law. Journal of Human Lactation,
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that the limitations faced by lactation stations Bai, Y. K., Wunderlich, S. M., & Weinstock, M.
in the university also reflect the potential bar- (2012). Employers’ readiness for the
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Issue No. 9 29
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Philippines. (2010). An Act Expanding The Pro-
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Issue No. 9 31
Relationship of Personal Hygiene Score with Sex,
Nutritional Status, Morbidity, and Academic Grades
Among Primary Grade School Children in a
Public Elementary School in Pila, Laguna
Paul Alteo A. Bagabaldo a *, Marie Rose A. Bonifacio b, Marjorie Anne A. Layosa a, Ann C. Cayetano a,
Leila S. Africa, PhD a
a
Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna
b
School of Engineering and Technology, Northwestern Mindanao State, College of Science and Technology

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Poor hygiene is one of the indirect causes of undernutrition especially in low-resource settings.
Undernutrition has been linked with low academic performance among schoolchildren; however,
limited evidence exists on the relationship between personal hygiene and children’s academic
grades, particularly in local settings. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the association
among personal hygiene score (PHS), sex, nutritional status (NS), morbidity profile, and academic
grades of schoolchildren. The study randomly selected 85 primary grade school children attending a
government elementary school in Pila, Laguna. The PHS of students was assessed using a pre-tested
questionnaire; data on socio-demographics, water source, and toilet facilities were obtained from the
parents; and anthropometric measurements and academic grades were obtained through secondary
sources. Appropriate tools and statistical analyses were applied using 90% level of confidence.
Results showed that PHS was significantly associated with sex, with very good PHS observed more
frequently among females than males (42.9% vs. 29.6%). Conversely, no significant association was
seen between PHS and academic grades, and between academic grades and all three indices of NS.
Notably, PHS was significantly associated with some hygiene-related morbidities, particularly cough
and cold, head lice, headache, and dental carries. PHS also had a moderate strength of relationship
with BMI-for-age index (rs value of 0.510), wherein significantly associated hygiene practices include
use of soap in handwashing, use of toothbrush with toothpaste, and handwashing after eating.
Despite the lack of strong association between PHS and academic grades, personal hygiene should
still be given importance in designing school-based interventions aimed towards improving overall
health and learning capabilities of primary grade school children.

Keywords: academic grade, hygiene-related morbidity, nutritional status, personal hygiene, school
children

INTRODUCTION four sub-forms of undernutrition: wasting (low

weight-for-height), stunting (low height-for-age),
Undernutrition is a type of malnutrition that is underweight (low weight-for-age), and deficien-
directly related to inadequate dietary intake and cies in vitamins and minerals, all of which make
infectious diseases. It is influenced by three children more vulnerable to disease and death
broad factors: food, health, and care. There are (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020). All

32 January - December 2020

forms of undernutrition are estimated to contrib- cess to improved water and sanitation was as-
ute to 3.1 million child deaths each year, equiv- sociated with lower mortality and reduced risk of
alent to 45% of deaths among children less child diarrhea and mild or severe stunting (Fink
than 5 years of age (WHO, 2015). Undernutri- et al., 2011).
tion prevalence, particularly for underweight,
wasting, and stunting, is increasing alarmingly With all ages susceptible to disease, undernutri-
both in local and global settings. Global data tion and compromised immunity are particularly
show 6.9% prevalence for wasting and 21.3% detrimental to the health of school-age children,
prevalence for stunting among children under who spend long hours in schools and in play-
five years old (United Nations Children’s Fund grounds. Thus, access to WASH services is an
[UNICEF], 2020). In the Philippines, the prev- essential element of a healthy community, which
alence of underweight, stunting, and wasting has a positive impact on nutrition and therefore
among schoolchildren in 2018 were reported on the learning performance of children. The
at 25.0%, 24.5%, and 7.6%, respectively (Food positive impact of WASH practices and/or inter-
and Nutrition Research Institute, 2018). ventions on health and nutritional outcomes lies
in the interruption of transmission of fecal patho-
Undernutrition is indirectly caused by low ma- gens from the environment to humans, water
ternal education and improper child care, lack sources, agricultural fields, and contaminating
of access to healthcare services, and poor envi- fly populations (WHO, 2015).
ronmental conditions, such as poor cleanliness,
water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) prac- In the Philippines, notable progress has been
tices (UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank, 2013). made to improve access to WASH services, in-
Disease spreads quickly, especially when no cluding the issuance of Department of Educa-
safe and sufficient water is available for use, tion Order (DO) No. 56, s. 2009, titled “Imme-
handwashing facilities are not available, and diate Construction of Water and Hand Washing
toilets are in poor condition (WHO, 2015). This Facilities in All Schools for the Prevention of
could cause diseases, such as cholera, intesti- Influenza A (H1N1),” and DO No. 65, s. 2009,
nal worms, and diarrhea, which tend to inhibit titled “Implementation of the Essential Health
the absorption of nutrients by the body, leading Care Program (EHCP) for the School Children.”
to undernutrition and compromised immunity These were issued to institutionalize good
(Mshida, et al., 2018). health and hygiene practices among students,
especially since WASH interventions in school
The association between diarrhea and other en- intervention programs are among the promising
teric infections and child nutritional outcomes is strategies in combating undernutrition and mor-
complex, but a recent analysis of cohort data bidity among children (Darvesh et al., 2017).
suggested that repeated diarrhea incidence in However, significant steps are still needed to be
the first two years of life significantly increases taken to address the needs of very poor and vul-
the risks of being stunted (Dangour et al., 2013). nerable populations in far-flung areas.
Several studies also suggested that proper
hygiene and sanitation practices and sustain- Achieving optimal nutritional status entails pro-
able access to WASH facilities could promote vision of not only adequate food and care, but
improved nutritional status and reduced sus- also of a healthy environment, which includes
ceptibility to infections and morbidities among interventions involving proper WASH practic-
schoolchildren (Haque et al., 2014; He et al., es and services that promote a clean and safe
2018; Manzoni et al., 2019; Rah et al., 2015). environment, leading to an increased access
Moreover, a large-scale study with 1.1 million to better quality of life and education (WHO,
children under five years of age from 70 low- 2009). Several studies have shown the nega-
and middle-income countries showed that ac- tive effects of undernutrition on academic per-

Issue No. 9 33
formance among schoolchildren (Acham et al., applied to protect and ensure their dignity and
2008; Ghosh et al., 2013; Haile et al., 2016; Iz- welfare. These include asking permission from
idoro et al., 2014; Shaw et al., 2015; Naelga and the elementary school to conduct the study and
Doncillo, 2016; Abebe et al., 2017). However, obtaining informed consent from the parents
limited evidence exists on the relationship be- of the respondents. The children and/or their
tween personal hygiene and children’s nutrition- guardians were given the choice to decline par-
al status and academic grade, particularly in the ticipation at any time. Since the subjects were
local setting. Thus, the present study aimed to six to nine years old, only verbal assent from the
assess the socio-demographic profile, personal children were secured by the researchers.
hygiene score (PHS), nutritional status, morbidi-
ty profile, and academic grade of schoolchildren Data Collection Procedures
attending a government elementary school in
Pila, Laguna and to determine the association of A pre-tested questionnaire modified based on a
these factors with the academic grades of chil- related study by Deb et al. (2010) was used to
dren. Study results could contribute to filling this evaluate the PHS of the primary grade school
knowledge gap in the local setting and serve as children. Data on hygiene practices, state of
baseline data in designing school-based inter- personal cleanliness, and presence of some
ventions to augment understanding of the po- morbidity among the children were obtained by
tential effects of WASH-related interventions in basic examination of children’s overall health
improving schoolchildren’s health and learning and physical appearance and interviews with
capabilities in resource-constrained settings. the children and their parents and/or guard-
ians. These data were collected first thing in the
morning before the start of their classes to avoid
METHODOLOGY confounders. The state of personal hygiene of a
respondent was scored either 0 (unfavourable)
Study Design and Sampling Procedure or 1 (favourable), while practices related to per-
sonal hygiene were scored 0 (never practiced),
The study is a cross sectional survey conducted 1 (practicing 1-3 times per week), or 2 (practic-
among primary grade school children aged six ing 4-7 times per week). PHS was then com-
to nine years old in a government elementary puted by getting the sum of all scores obtained
school in Pila, Laguna. At the time of data collec- by the respondent and interpreted using the
tion, the school has a total of 229 primary grade following scale: 0-5 points (poor), 6-10 points
school students between six to nine years old (fair), 11-15 points (good), and 16-20 points
(grade levels I to III). Simple random sampling (very good).
was used in selecting study respondents. The
computed sample size was 85 students, derived Other information such as birth dates and ac-
using the formula n = [Npq / (N/D2) + pq], where ademic grades were obtained from school re-
p is 0.5, margin of error is 7%, and level of con- cords, while anthropometric measurements
fidence is 90%. Exclusion criteria were adopted were provided by another researcher who had
to rule out the participation of children not within measured these following standard protocols.
six to nine years of age and those who have Moreover, data on household socio-demo-
communicable and other genetic diseases. graphics, water source, and toilet facilities were
obtained using a separate pre-tested question-
Ethical Considerations naire directed towards the parents or guardian
of the children. To avoid respondent bias, data
Since the study involved obtaining data from hu- collection was administered through personal
man participants, several considerations were interviews with the children and/or their parents

34 January - December 2020

and probing was done whenever necessary. using deep well as source of water for bath-
Data collection was done from November to De- ing and washing dishes and clothes (55.3%).
cember 2016. Data obtained were processed For toilet facility, more than half of households
and encoded using MS Excel with PH Stat and (52.7%) used the pour-flush type while more
MegaStat add-ins. WHO AnthroPlus software than a quarter (26.3%) practiced open-pit toilet
was used to calculate the z-scores and to deter- system.
mine the nutritional status of students.

Statistical Analysis Table 1. Socio-demographics, water source,

and toilet facilities of primary grade school chil-
The characteristics of the primary grade school dren and their households.
children were summarized using descriptive
statistics. Data obtained were analyzed using Distribution of the respondents by age

Chi-square test to determine the association 6 years old 27.1%

between sex and nutritional status; sex and 7 years old 28.2%
personal hygiene score; nutritional status and 8 years old 35.3%
state of personal hygiene/hygiene practices; 9 years old 9.4%
and PHS and presence of hygiene-related mor- Distribution of the respondents by grade level
bidities. Cramer’s V coefficient was used to de- Grade I 27.0%
termine the strength of association. Moreover,
Grade II 31.8%
Spearman’s rank order correlation coefficient
Grade III 41.2%
was calculated to determine the degree of re-
Distribution of the respondents by sex
lationship between PHS and nutritional status;
Male 50.6%
nutritional status and academic grade; and PHS
and academic grade Female 49.4%
Educational attainment of household breadwinner
College graduate 7.9%
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Vocational course 5.3%
Highschool graduate 68.4%
Characteristics of Primary Grade School Highschool undergraduate 7.9%
Children and their Households Elementary graduate 2.6%
Elementary undergraduate 5.3%
The elementary school comprised two sections
Monthly household income
for grade levels I and II and three sections for
10,000 pesos and below 65.8%
grade level III. A total of 229 students were
10,001 – 30,000 pesos 34.2%
between 6-9 years old, from which 85 stu-
dents were randomly selected. Table 1 shows Water source for drinking

the information on socio-demographics, water Tap water 15.8%

source, and toilet facilities of respondents and Purified water 84.2%
their respective households. Respondents were Water source for washing
composed of a fairly equal number of male and Tap water 44.7%
female children at 50.6% and 49.4%, respec- Deep well 55.3%
tively. Majority of household breadwinners were Toilet facility
high school graduates (68.4%) and earning PhP
Water-flush 18.4%
10,000 and below monthly (65.8%). Most were
Pour-flush 52.7%
drinking water from purified sources (84.2%);
Open-pit 26.3%
however, more than half of households were
Others 2.6%

Issue No. 9 35
Nutritional Status of Primary Grade School and height-for-age (71.8%). However, wasting
Children (7.1%), severe wasting (1.2%), and overweight
(3.5%) were still present among the children.
Figure 1 shows the nutritional status of prima- Based on weight-for-age, 21.2% of children
ry grade school children according to BMI-for- were classified as underweight, 9.4% as se-
age, weight-for-age, and height-for-age indi- verely underweight, and 1.2% as overweight.
ces. Among respondents, majority had normal Stunting and severe stunting were also present
BMI-for-age (88.2%), weight-for-age (68.2%), at 21.2% and 7.0%, respectively.

Figure 1. Nutritional status according to BMI-for-age, Weight-for-age, and Height-for-age of

Primary Grade School Children

Cleanliness and Personal Hygiene Practices use and before eating for at least 4-7 times a
of Primary Grade School Children week was also noted among 65.7% and 60.0%
of respondents, respectively. Handwashing af-
Personal hygiene practices of primary grade ter eating and after playing or doing any activity,
school children were also assessed using the however, were only done 1-3 times a week by
pre-tested questionnaire attached as Annex 1. more than half of the children.
Figure 2 shows the state of personal hygiene
of primary grade school children, wherein ma-
jority had clean and combed hair (77.1%),
trimmed and clean nails (55.3%), clean uniform
(74.3%), and clean hands and skin (82.4%). It
was alarming to observe, however, that almost
half of respondents (44.7%) had dirty and un-
trimmed nails, and more than a quarter had dirty
and messy hair (29.9%) and unclean uniforms
(25.7%), which might suggest the lack of child
care at home and school.

In terms of personal hygiene practices (Figure

3), most respondents use soap for handwashing
(58.8%) and taking a bath (94.1%) for at least
Figure 2. Status of personal hygiene of
4-7 times a week. Washing of hands after toilet
primargy grade school children

36 January - December 2020

 Figure 3. Personal hygiene practices of primary grade school children

Personal Hygiene Scores (PHS) and sults showed that 16.5% had diarrhea and
Academic Grades of Primary Grade School 15.3% had head lice, while 3.5% and 17.6%
Children had experienced headache and fever, respec-
tively (Figure 5). Alarmingly, it was noted that
After the assessment of cleanliness and per- the two most prevalent hygiene-related morbid-
sonal hygiene practices of primary grade school ities among primary school children were cough
children, PHS was then computed (Figure 4). and cold (58.8%) and dental caries (22.4%).
More than half (62.3%) of the children had good
PHS while 31.8% had very good PHS. The re-
maining respondents (5.9%) had fair PHS, while
none exhibited poor PHS. In terms of academic
grades, most schoolchildren had B (34.2%) and
B- grades (31.5%). Further, analysis showed
that none of the students had a grade of A.

Figure 5. Hygiene related morbidities among

primary grade school children

Sex and Nutritional Status

The association between sex and nutritional

status (BMI-for-age, weight-for-age, height-for-
Figure 4. Personal hygiene scores and aca-
age) were investigated. As shown in Table 2, the
demic grades of primary grade school children
prevalence of normal BMI-for-age among boys
(90.7%) and girls (85.7%) were comparable.
Hygiene-related Morbidities among Primary Meanwhile, more boys were classified as over-
Grade School Children weight (4.7%) than girls (2.4%), while more girls
were classified as wasted (11.9%) compared to
Presence of hygiene-related morbidities was boys (4.6%). This finding is similar to the results
also assessed among the schoolchildren. Re- of Wang et al. (2018) and Zhang et al. (2018),

Issue No. 9 37
wherein adolescent boys were found to be more Table 4 shows that more boys were chronically
prone to obesity than girls due to the former’s malnourished or stunted than girls (25.6% vs.
excessive energy intake and underestimation 16.7%). This result agrees with the study of
of body weight. Analysis showed, however, that Wamani et al. (2007), which found that the prev-
sex has no significant association with BMI-for- alence of stunting was higher among boys than
age (p-value = 0.25, α = 0.10, Cramer’s V = girls in households with the same socioeconom-
0.22). ic status. In the same manner, more girls were
classified as normal compared to boys (76.2%
vs. 67.4%). Both sexes had around 7% preva-
Table 2. Distribution by sex of grade school chil- lence of severe stunting and no occurrence of
dren according to BMI-for-age classification tallness was documented in the studied popula-
tion. However, no association was reported be-
Nutritional Status Males Females tween sex and height-for-age (p-value = 0.5991,
(BMI-for-age) No. (%) No. (%)
α = 0.10, Cramer’s V = 0.11).
Severely wasted (<-3SD) 1 (2.3) 0
Wasted (-3SD to <-2SD) 1 (2.3) 5 (11.9)
Normal (-2SD to +2SD) 39 (90.7) 36 (85.7) Table 4. Distribution by sex of grade school chil-
Overweight (>+2SD) 2 (4.7) 1 (2.4) dren according to height-for-age classification
Total 43 (100) 42 (100)
χ2= 4.11, p-value = 0.25 , df = 3 Nutritional Status Males Females
(height-for-age) No. (%) No. (%)
Severely Stunted (<-3SD) 3 (7.0) 3 (7.1)

Similar findings were observed using the weight- Stunted (-3SD to <-2SD) 11 (25.6) 7 (16.7)
for-age index (Table 3), wherein boys (67.4%) Normal (-2SD to +2SD) 29 (67.4) 32 (76.2)
and girls (69.0%) had comparable prevalence Tall (>+2SD) 0 0
for normal nutritional status. Prevalence of Total 43 (100) 42 (100)
severely underweight (9.3% vs. 9.5%), under- χ2= 1.02, p-value = 0.5991, df = 2
weight (20.9% vs. 21.4%) and overweight (2.3%
vs. 0%) between males and females were also
comparable. Similarly, no association was re- The population under study revealed that more
ported between sex and weight-for-age (p-value girls generally had normal nutritional status
= 0.8041, α = 0.10, Cramer’s V = 0.108). compared to boys. Moreover, more boys were
stunted than girls while more girls were wasted.
The absence of statistical association between
Table 3. Distribution by sex of grade school sex and the three nutritional status indices could
children according to weight-for-age be attributed to the fact that weight and height
classification are more affected by other direct factors, such
as dietary consumption and presence of dis-
Nutritional Status Males Females ease or illness (Hruby and Hu, 2015).
(weight-for-age) No. (%) No. (%)
Severely Underweight (<-3SD) 4 (9.3) 4 (9.5)
Sex and Personal Hygiene Score
Underweight (-3SD to <-2SD) 9 (20.9) 9 (21.4)
Normal (-2SD to +2SD) 29 (67.4) 29 (69.0) Aside from nutritional status, the association of
Overweight (>+2SD) 1 (2.3) 0 sex with PHS was also investigated. As shown
Total 43 (100) 42 (100) in Table 5, more boys obtained good PHS com-
χ2= 0.99, p-value = 0.8041 , df = 3 pared to girls (77.4% vs. 50.0%), while more
girls had very good PHS compared to boys
(42.3% vs. 20.9%). The latter finding could be

38 January - December 2020

attributed to the innate characteristics of girls to ticularly having clean hands and skin (85.7%)
groom more and make themselves appealing and clean and well-trimmed nails (91.5%). How-
and presentable to others (Duckett et al., 1989). ever, these values were not significantly asso-
Using Cramer’s V test, sex showed a moder- ciated (p-value = 0.1690, p-value = 0.4418, re-
ate association with PHS (p-value = 0.0648, α = spectively).
0.10, Cramer’s V = 0.25).
Table 6. Strength of relationship between PHS
Table 5. Distribution of male and female prima- and Nutritional Status
ry grade school children according to PHS
Spearman’s Strength of
Variables Coefficient Relationship
Personal Male No. Female No.
Hygiene Score (PHS) (%) (%) PHS and BMI-for-age 0.510 Moderate
Poor (0-5 points) 0 0 PHS and weight-for-age 0.322 Weak
Fair (6-10 points) 2 (4.7) 3 (7.1) PHS and height-for-age 0.263 Weak
Good (11-15 points) 32 (77.4) 21 (50.0)
Very good (16-20 points) 9 (20.9) 18 (42.3)
Table 7. Correlation of BMI-for-age and state of
Total 43 (100) 42 (100)
personal hygiene
χ2= 5.47, p-value = 0.0648 , df = 2

Trimmed and Clean Clean Hands and

Nails Skin
Personal Hygiene Score and Nutritional BMI-for- No. (%) No. (%)
age
Status Unfavor- Favor- Unfavor- Favor-
able able able able

The analyzed association between PHS and Severely 1 (2.6) 0 0 1 (1.4)

wasted
nutritional status showed weak relationship for
Wasted 4 (10.5) 2 (4.3) 0 6 (8.6)
both PHS and height-for-age and weight-for-
Normal 32 (84.2) 43 (91.5) 15 (100) 60 (85.7)
age, with rs value of 0.263 and 0.322, respec-
Over-
tively (Table 6). Interestingly, PHS and BMI- weight 1 (2.6) 2 (4.3) 0 3 (4.3)
for-age exhibited a moderate relationship, with χ2= 2.69, χ2= 2.43,
rs value of 0.510, suggesting that BMI-for-age p-value = 0.4418, p-value = 0.1690,
df = 3 df = 3
among 6-9-year-old primary grade school chil-
dren might improve as PHS increases. Based
on this, it can be suggested to intensify proper On the other hand, in terms of practices relat-
hygiene practices, especially among girls most ed to personal hygiene (Table 8), BMI-for-age
affected by wasting. It should be noted, how- had significant association with the use of
ever, that PHS was not the sole reason for the soap for handwashing, use of toothbrush with
observed wasting prevalence among primary toothpaste, and handwashing after eating. This
grade school children. means that BMI-for-age are dependent on these
hygiene-related practices, which can be the fo-
Since there was a moderate relationship be- cus of interventions for wasting problem among
tween PHS and BMI-for-age, it was also import- primary grade school children. Meanwhile, ma-
ant to look into the state of personal hygiene jority of the children (87.5%) who took a bath at
and hygiene practices that contributed to the least 4-7 times a week had normal nutritional
said association. As seen in Table 7, most of status, although the association was not signifi-
the children’s nutritional statuses were normal if cant (p-value = 0.8712).
they have good state of personal hygiene, par-

Issue No. 9 39
Table 8. Correlation of BMI-for-age and practices related to personal hygiene

Use of soap for hand Use of toothbrush with Hand washing after eating
Taking a bath
washing toothpaste No.
BMI-for- No. (%)
No. (%) No. (%) (%)
age
1-3x/ 4-7x/ 1-3x/ 4-7x/ 1-3x/ 4-7x/ 1-3x/
Never Never Never 4-7x/ wk
wk wk wk wk wk wk wk
Severely 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
wasted (20) (50) (50) (1.2)
2 4 1 5 2 4 6
Wasted 0 0 0 0
(6.7) (8) (5.6) (7.7) (4.4) (10.5) (7.5)
4 28 43 1 16 58 1 42 32 5 70
Normal (80) (93.3) (86) (50) (88.9) (89.2) (50) (93.3) (84.2) (100) (87.5)
3 1 2 1 2 3
Overweight 0 0 0 0 0
(6) (5.6) (3.1) (2.2) (5.3) (3.8)
χ2= 0.71,
χ2= 18.68, χ2= 42.39, χ2= 43.87, p-value =0.8712,
p-value =0.0047, df = 6 p-value =1.54e-07, df =6 p-value =7.84e-08, df = 6 df = 3

Personal Hygiene Score and Presence of ation identified, the statistical analysis does not
Hygiene-related Morbidities necessarily mean a cause-effect relationship
between the studied variable; thus, it can be in-
PHS and different types of reported morbidi- ferred that cough and cold is affected by various
ties experienced by the subjects suggest the factors, such as immediate environment, dietary
association of personal hygiene practices with intake, and immune system (Chang and Wid-
the acquisition of morbidities (Table 9). How- dicombe, 2007). Meanwhile, 68.1% of students
ever, some children still experienced diarrhea without head lice had good PHS and 25% had
despite having good or excellent PHS (66.2% very good PHS. Results also showed a strong
and 29.6% prevalence, respectively), although association between good PHS and absence
no significant association was found between of head lice (p-value = 0.006, α = 0.10; Cram-
these two variables. The result was the same for er’s V = 0.345). Other factors associated with
PHS and fever, with 73% of schoolchildren hav- presence of head lice include belonging to big
ing experienced fever despite obtaining good households with low socioeconomic status, re-
PHS, which suggests that fever is multi-causal, siding in densely populated areas, and presence
i.e., it could have been caused by other factors. of longer hair (Meister and Ochsendorf, 2016),
although it was not related to frequent brushing
In addition, 51.4% of schoolchildren who had or shampooing (Frankowski and Weiner, 2002).
not experienced cough and cold were found
to have good PHS and 37.1% have very good Moreover, 62.2% and 32.9% of those who
PHS. However, 70% of those who had experi- have not experienced headache had good and
enced coughs and colds obtained good PHS very good PHS, respectively. Results showed
and 28% had very good PHS. The calculated moderate association between the two vari-
significant association between PHS and pres- ables (p-value = 0.0829, α = 0.10; Cramer’s V
ence of cough and cold (p-value = 0.09, α = = 0.242). This means that headache, which is
0.10, Cramer’s V = 0.237) was in line with the a symptom of various diseases, occurs less to
study of Sarkar (2013), which found that stu- a child with good to very good PHS. With this,
dents with poor hygienic practices mostly suffer good PHS could have reduced occurrence of
from fever with or without cough/cold, diarrhea, headache among primary grade school chil-
head lice, and dental caries. Despite the associ- dren. On the other hand, a moderately strong

40 January - December 2020

association was observed between higher PHS = 0.208). These results were in contrast with the
and absence of dental caries and/or toothache results of Mansour et al. (2013) wherein poor
(p-value = 0.0586, α = 0.10; Cramer’s V = hygiene practices (lack of soap and sharing a
0.258). toilet, and absence of towels in bathrooms) were
more frequently observed among children with
Meanwhile, 66.7% and 25.8% of children who diarrhea and with He et al. (2018) wherein chil-
did not experience dental caries or toothache dren belonging to households with lacking hy-
have good and very good PHS, respectively, giene facilities had higher odds of suffering from
which might be due to the prevalent practice diarrhea, cough and fever. The results could
of using toothpaste during brushing of teeth as imply that the presence of fever and diarrhea
toothpaste prevents formation of cavities (Cury could have been caused by other factors other
and Tenuta, 2014). Lastly, no significant rela- than personal hygiene practices of the children
tionship was seen between PHS and presence including breastfeeding practices (Lamberti et
of fever (p-value = 0.5585, α = 0.10; Cramer’s V al., 2011), malnutrition (Brown, 2003), and par-
= 0.117) and between PHS and presence of di- ents’ knowledge and practices against diarrhea
arrhea (p-value = 0.1586, α = 0.10; Cramer’s V (Mumtaz et al., 2014).

Table 9. Personal hygiene score and presence of hygiene-related morbidities among the primary
grade school children.

Personal Hygiene Score (PHS)

Hygiene-related Morbidities Chi-square
Fair Good Very Good Total
Absent No. (%) 3 (4.2) 47 (66.2) 21 (29.6) 71 (100) χ2= 3.68,
Diarrhea p-value =
Present No. (%) 2 (14.3) 6 (42.9) 6 (42.9) 14 (100) 0.1586
Absent No. (%) 4 (11.4) 18 (51.4) 13 (37.1) 35 (100) χ2= 4.79,
Cough and Cold p-value =
Present No. (%) 1 (2) 35 (70.0) 14(28.0) 50 (100) 0.0911
Absent No. (%) 5 (6.9) 49 (68.1) 18 (25.0) 72 (100) χ2= 10.14,
Head lice p-value =
Present No. (%) 0 4 (30.8) 9 (69.2) 13 (100) 0.0063
Absent No. (%) 4 (4.9) 51 (62.2) 27 (32.9) 82 (100) χ2= 4.98,
Head ache p-value =
Present No. (%) 1(33.3) 2 (66.7) 0 3 (100) 0.0829
Absent No. (%) 4 (5.7) 42 (60.0) 24 (34.3) 70 (100) χ2= 1.16,
Fever p-value =
Present No. (%) 1(6.7) 11 (73.3) 3 (20.0) 15 (100) 0.5585
Absent No. (%) 5 (7.6) 44 (66.7) 17 (25.8) 66 (100) χ2= 5.67,
Dental carries p-value =
Present No. (%) 0 9 (47.4) 10 (52.6) 19 (100) 0.0586

Nutritional Status and Academic Grade determinants of a student’s grade, several vari-
ables were observed. First, the association be-
Based on the obtained data, majority of stu- tween nutritional status and academic grades of
dents had a grade of B (83-86) and B- (80-82). A the student was explored, and a very weak rela-
significant number of students, however, had a tionship was observed between these variables.
grade equivalent to C (77-79). Though these are The obtained Spearman’s coefficient values
still considered passing scores, it is better if the were -0.153, -0.155, and -0.149 for BMI-for-age,
children can have higher grades. To identify the weight-for-age, and height-for-age, respective-

Issue No. 9 41
ly (Table 10). These indicate that the academ- intervention reduces school absences due to
ic grades of children were not associated with diarrhea, which can consequently lead to im-
their nutritional status, implying that other fac- proved academic performance.
tors may have affected the students’ academic
grades. This result coincides with the findings
of Naelga and Doncillo (2016), which found no CONCLUSION
relation between academic performance and
BMI among grade 2 students in Cagayan de This study found that PHS was significantly
Oro City. Alcuizar (2016) observed the opposite, associated with sex and some hygiene-related
however, and reported that nutrition and living morbidities, particularly cough and cold, head
condition had significant effects on academic lice, headache, and dental carries. Among the
performance among students in Iligan City. three nutritional status indices, only BMI-for-age
had a significant and moderate relationship with
PHS. Meanwhile, BMI-for-age was significantly
Table 10. Spearman’s Coefficient of Nutritional
associated with the use of soap in handwash-
Status and Academic Grade
ing, use of toothbrush with toothpaste, and
handwashing after eating among schoolchil-
Spearman’s Strength of
Variables Coefficient Relationship dren. Conversely, no significant association was
BMI-for-age and
observed between nutritional status (in all three
-0.153 Very weak
Academic Grade indices) and academic grades and between
Weight-for-age and -0.155 Very weak
PHS and academic grades. Despite the lack of
Academic Grade
strong association between PHS and academic
height-for-age and
Academic Grade -0.149 Very weak grades, PHS was still observed to have signif-
icant association with different hygiene-related
morbidities, which could affect the overall nu-
Personal Hygiene Score and Academic tritional status and well-being of the children.
Grade Thus, personal hygiene should still be given im-
portance in planning and implementation of nu-
The association between personal hygiene trition-related interventions in the primary school
score and academic grades of the children setting, wherein both parents and teachers can
yielded a value of 0.002, which indicates a very play a positive and significant role.
weak relationship between the two variables. As
mentioned earlier, the academic grades of the
primary grade school children might be mainly RECOMMENDATIONS
affected by more direct factors, including learn-
ing facilities (Figueroa et al., 2016), communica- The reported significant association of PHS
tion, proper guidance and child care (Panopio, with BMI-for-age and different hygiene-related
2017), presence of family stress (Mushtaq and morbidities revealed the importance of personal
Khan, 2012), economic status, and parent’s hygiene practices in improving the former and
education (Farooq et al., 2011). These factors preventing the latter. Personal hygiene should
were also observed among the study group, be taught to and given emphasis among school-
most of them belonging to households with less children through awareness and proper health
than PhP 10,000 monthly income and whose education. This also implies the need for improv-
parents had high school level of education. This ing school handwashing and toilet facilities to
does not imply, however, that personal hygiene encourage schoolchildren to utilize these ame-
of students should be taken for granted, as Vally nities more frequently. A more detailed survey
et al. (2019) showed that a school-based WASH is also recommended for the school to design

42 January - December 2020

more appropriate school-based interventions in- achievement in Kumi district, East of
volving the students, parents, teachers, and the Uganda. Scientific Research and Es-
school. Other factors worthy to investigate in- says, 3(1), 1-8.
clude intake of breakfast before going to school,
diet quality and eating habits, quantity and qual- Alcuizar, R. (2016). Determinants of low aca-
ity of sleep, parental support, school learning demic performance for pupils in upland
facilities, quantity and quality of teachers, and barangays, Iligan City, Philippines. In-
other information on socio-economic profile. ternational Journal of Physical Educa-
Improvement on parent-teacher-student rela- tion, Sports and Health, 3(2), 321-325.
tionships to make them more effective and sus-
tainable is also encouraged to provide learning Brown, K. H. (2003). Diarrhea and malnutri-
continuity from school to home and vice versa, tion. The Journal of Nutrition, 133(1),
particularly on knowledge and practices related 328S-332S.
to personal hygiene. Proper planning, imple-
mentation, monitoring, and evaluation should Chang, A. B., & Widdicombe, J. G. (2007).
also be applied to these potential interventions. Cough throughout life: Children, adults
and the senile. Pulmonary Pharmacolo-
gy & Therapeutics, 20(4), 371-382.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST Cury, J. A., & Tenuta, L. M. A. (2014). Evi-

dence-based recommendation on
The authors declare no conflict of interest. toothpaste use. Brazilian oral research,
28(spe), 1-7.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dangour, A. D., Watson, L., Cumming, O., Bois-

son, S., Che, Y., Velleman, Y., Cavill, S.,
The authors thank the school and all the stu- Allen, E., & Uauy, R. (2013). Interven-
dents, parents, and teachers for participating in tions to improve water quality and sup-
this study. The authors also acknowledge Dr. ply, sanitation, and hygiene practices,
Maria Theresa M. Talavera and Dr. Nancy A. and their effects on the nutritional status
Tandang for sharing their knowledge and exper- of children. Cochrane Database of Sys-
tise towards improving the study. tematic Reviews, (8), CD009382.

Darvesh, N., Das, J. K., Vaivada, T., Gaffey,

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46 January - December 2020

Development of a Valid and Reliable Questionnaire to
Evaluate an Adult’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practices
on Cholesterol Management
Diorella Marie M. Tria, MSc a *, Leila S. Africa, PhD a, Aimee Sheree A. Barrion, PhD a
b
Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
High levels of total cholesterol (TC) are among the top significant contributing factor for cardiovascu-
lar diseases. With only less than half of the global population with good cholesterol awareness in both
genders, the public’s knowledge of cholesterol is critical in potential prevention and preparedness
according to World Health Organization. The aim of this paper was to develop a reliable and valid
instrument to measure the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of adults on cholesterol manage-
ment. The questionnaire was designed to develop an evaluation tool that can assess the risk of Filipi-
no adults to hypercholesterolemia. Content validity was facilitated by eight experts in health, nutrition
and medicine fields. Revisions were made based on their validation. The resulting questionnaire with
satisfactory content validity index of ≥0.80 was pilot-tested on 50 random subjects. The Cronbach’s
alpha was used to further determine the questionnaire’s internal consistency. The % mean score ±
SD of the knowledge (58.90%±1.77), attitude (72.70%±1.95) and practices (58.20%±1.58) of this
study revealed that the test subjects exhibited average awareness on cholesterol management. All
key areas resulted to have a Cronbach alpha statistic of ≥0.70. The developed questionnaire with the
desirable validity and reliability may be used as a reference tool to measure KAP levels on choles-
terol management of adults.

Keywords: attitude; cholesterol management; hypercholesterolemia; knowledge; practice; question-

naire development; reliability; validity

INTRODUCTION annual mortality rate of CVD has an average

increase of 2.3%, and since 1990, cases across
High total cholesterol (TC) or also known as the country has increased by 52.2% (DOST-FN-
hypercholesterolemia, is among the top sig- RI, 2016). Results from various cohort studies
nificant contributing factor for Cardiovascular in other countries have proven that high total
Disease (CVD) among adults that cause death cholesterol is an independent and inverse pre-
rates to increase around the world. According dictor of CVD which has a great impact in in-
to World Health Organization (2018), about 17 creasing its prevalence rate (Briel et al., 2009;
million people died from CVDs incurring a toll Brown et al., 2013; Pajak et al., 2016). About
rate of 30% of the global burden. In the Philip- 61.9% of adults (50 to 59 years) have been
pines, CVD is still the leading cause of death ac- suffering from borderline cholesterol, followed
counting for 170,000 incidents every year. The by 58.9% adults (60 to 69 years), then 57.5%
adults in their 70s and 51.5% adults aging 40

Issue No. 9 47
to 49 years (DOST-FNRI, 2016). However, most vascular health were identified. A questionnaire
adult population with high TC are undertreat- with five sections that consist of true or false,
ed and underdiagnosed. Evidence had shown multiple choices, frequency and Likert scales
that for every percentage of those who are at was structured. Items were categorized under
risk to hypercholesterolemia, almost half of the 5 Sections: (A) Basic Profile; (B) Cholester-
population is unaware of their condition (Lee et ol Knowledge; (C) Foods and Cholesterol; (D)
al., 2014) and that only 36% in both genders Cholesterol Risk Factors and Practices; and (E)
has adept knowledge about cholesterol and its Attitude for a Healthy Lifestyle.
management (WHO, 2018). Wrong dissemina-
tion of information about cholesterol lowering Expert Panel Review
treatments was driven by the population’s poor
knowledge about cholesterol (Catapano et al., Several studies suggested that an expert panel
2015). Reported data on whether the Philippine tasked to review an instrument should have at
population has an adequate knowledge, good least five members considering a practical value
attitude and practices regarding CVD and its of chance agreement (Zamanzadeh et al., 2015;
risk factors are very limited that local govern- Rodrigues et al., 2017). Thus, the questionnaire
ment today prioritize the assessment of aware- validation was conducted by an eight-member
ness to address the alarming public burden of expert panel who were selected based on the
its mortality rate (DOST-FNRI, 2016). It is not following conditions: 1- had been employed in
known whether the relation of cholesterol level the field of health, nutrition, or medicine with
to risk of CVD has reached the knowledge of the work experience for more than 3 years; 2- had
public within the nation. Thus, this study aims to knowledge and interest on cholesterol, its risk
develop a valid and reliable evaluation tool to factors and cardiovascular diseases. The pan-
effectively assess an adult’s level of knowledge, el consisted of two medical doctors, three nu-
attitude and practices on cholesterol manage- tritionist-dietitians, and three food-nutrition re-
ment. Gathered information is expected to keep searchers. Items were initially adjusted based
every target individual engaged to adopt healthy on necessary revisions suggested by the panel.
attitudes as their routine to gradually reduce
their own lifetime risk. The awareness of the Questionnaire validity was measured by Con-
general public will be a precondition for success tent Validity Index (CVI) to determine the rele-
in the control of hypercholesterolemia and fur- vancy and clarity of each item. Content validity
ther risk to other CVDs (Aminde et al., 2017). was determined through the mean CVI (2a) of
the experts (where N= number of experts and
A= number of agreeing experts). With a CVI of
METHODOLOGY <0.80, item was either revised or deleted. The
4-point Likert scale that was used to measure
Phase 1: Content Validity the mean CVI were as follows: 1=irrelevant;
2=somewhat relevant; 3=quite relevant; and
Literature Review 4=highly relevant. Ratings of 3 and 4 were ac-
cepted thus, a CVI of ≥0.80 is recommended
The development of questionnaire was carried since it denotes a good evidence of relevant
out by a related review. Previous studies con- content validity (Haynes et al., 1995). Probabili-
taining information on levels of cholesterols and ty of chance occurrence (Pc) and modified Kap-
its risk factors published since 2010 were con- pa value (k*) were then calculated based form
sidered. Modifiable risks and health threats led the study of Larsson et al. Pc (2b), was comput-
by cholesterols and its relation to an individual’s ed to represent the estimate of the relative av-

48 January - December 2020

erage frequency with which the experts agreed Item Analysis
upon on an item. The computed Kappa value
(2c) was used to determine the interrater reli- Items were evaluated quantitatively through the
ability among the experts. The Kappa statistics analysis of reliability, consistency, difficulty and
varies from 0 to 1 (Larsson et al., 2015). How- discrimination. The reliability and consistency
ever, a higher level for acceptable relevance of the items were assessed using Cronbach’s
was more efficient to assess a health-related alpha to determine how closely related was the
questionnaire. Thus, the guidelines described set of items to each category. The Cronbach’s
by Cicchetti and Sparrow (1981) for evaluat- coefficient with α ≥0.70 was considered reli-
ing computed Kappa value was used: Fair = K able (Taber, 2017). Cronbach’s alpha, following
(0.40-0.59); Good = K (0.60-0.74); and Excel- the principle of Kuder-Richardson Formula 20
lent = K (0.75-1.0). Results from the panel were (KR-20), was computed for all sections of the
quantified. The questionnaire was subjected for questionnaire (excluding Section A). This way
pilot testing to determine its reliability for data of determining the Cronbach’s α is applicable in
collection. determining internal consistency with questions
of dichotomous choices (correct/incorrect or
(2a) category A/category B) (Kuder and Richardson,
1937). The said principle was directly applied to
sections B and C to determine the Cronbach’s
(2b) alpha, since both sections have designated cor-
rect answers in every item. In the case of sec-
tions D and E, choices were divided into two,
(2c)
representing the category in which the items be-
long. Choices from section D were subcatego-
Phase 2: Content Reliability rized into low risk and high risk while in section
E, choices were subcategorized into healthier
Pilot Testing and unhealthier lifestyle. Difficulty (3a) and dis-
crimination (3b) indices were also analyzed to
Selected subjects were asked in a specific area determine the quality and differentiation of the
in Laguna, Philippines to take part of the aware- items (Friatma and Anhar, 2019).
ness assessment as part of the inter-rater reli-
ability investigation. The aim was to determine
the efficiency of the resulting questionnaire. (3a)
50 random subjects were selected based on
the following criteria: (1) within the age range (3b)
set for the study (Adults ≥20); (2) no commu-
nicable disease; (3) not currently diagnosed of Where:
Hc = high-scoring subjects with correct answers
hypercholesterolemia; and (4) had satisfied the Lc = low-scoring subjects with correct answers
requirements set on the general consent form.
Sample size was based on the general flat From the data gathered, KAP of the participants
rule that ≥30 subjects are feasible to estimate was also assessed as part of the pilot study
a parameter in a pilot study research (Browne, results. T-test was performed for independent
1995). Summary statistics for the profiling of the variables to determine the correlation of KAP
participants was used for descriptive analysis. scores. Scoring system for knowledge, attitude
and practice assessment was based from the

Issue No. 9 49
same method (KR-20) used in determining item Section B: Cholesterol Knowledge
reliability and consistency. KAP level of >50% • (high cholesterol definition, types of
was labelled as “passing scores”. Scores were cholesterol, cholesterol levels in adults,
further divided into quartiles categorized as fol- facts about high and low cholesterols)
lows: excellent (91-100%); good (71-90%); av-
erage (51-70%); and poor (≤50%). Section C: Foods and Cholesterol
• (Foods high or low in cholesterol, foods
associated with dairy products, animal
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION and plant sources)

Questionnaire Development Section D: Cholesterol Risk Factors and

Practices
A 70-item questionnaire was initially construct- • (cholesterol and family history, cho-
ed to determine the KAP level of a population lesterol level self-awareness, blood
about cholesterol and their views of their risk pressure self-awareness, body weight
to hypercholesterolemia. The first phase of the self-awareness, exercise, smoking &
development was guided by several reviews of drinking alcoholic beverages frequency)
related literatures. Existing questionnaires and
instruments that measure adults’ awareness Section E: Attitude for a Healthy Lifestyle
to cholesterol, hypercholesterolemia and CVD • (attitude towards starting or maintaining
were considered in this study. The question- a healthier lifestyle)
naire used Section A to assess the competency
of every participant to answer the items. The Questionnaire Validity
second section was summarized by overview
information about cholesterol in order to assess The questionnaire was validated to assess its
the facts which were well known by the subjects. efficiency and appropriateness to the target
The third section was intended to measure the age group, and to determine the relevance of
subjects’ awareness to the type of food that items for every category. This phase revealed
causes cholesterol levels in the body to change. that 69% (48 out of 70) of the total items had
Section D included items that determine the met the criterion with promising scores for its
subjects’ current health condition, which were validity and relevancy. Items with CVI scores
mostly self-reported data based on their own of ≥0.80 had the Pc value of <0.0313 that in-
records and estimation. The last section sole- dicates excellent degree of expert agreement.
ly focused on the subjects’ behaviour-specific Results were summarized as shown in Table 1.
routines. This section also aimed to determine A CVI of 1.0 means that all experts had agreed
the proportion of population who were willing to to an item’s inclusion to the questionnaire while
practice a healthier lifestyle for a change. Below a Kappa value (k*) of 1.0000 shows a high
is the list of sample question categories for each agreement on the relevancy of the items for
KAP component of the questionnaire: each section. Items with the lowest CVI score
(0.63) were automatically deleted and were not
Section A: Basic Profile furtherly evaluated.
• (name, sex, age, educational attain-
ment, household income, civil status)

50 January - December 2020

Table 1. Results of the validity and relevancy of the questionnaire items (Qn).

CVI1 k*2
Section A: Q8, Q9
Section B: Q12, Q15, Q18, Q19, Q21, Q24, Q25
0.50-0.79 Section C: Q27, Q30, Q31, Q32, Q34, Q37, Q40 Excellent
Section D: Q42, Q47, Q50
Section E: Q58, Q66, Q69
Section A: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7, Q10
Section B: Q11, Q13, Q14, Q16, Q17, Q20, Q22, Q23
Section C: Q26, Q28, Q29, Q33, Q35, Q36, Q38, Q39 Fair: Q8, Q9, Q27, Q31, Q32,
0.80 – 1.0
Section D: Q41, Q43, Q44, Q45, Q46, Q48, Q49, Q51, Q37, Q40, Q47, Q66, Q69
Q52, Q53, Q54, Q55
Section E: Q56, Q57, Q59, Q60, Q61, Q62, Q63, Q64,
Q65, Q67, Q68, Q70
1
Content Validity Index accepted value: ≥0.80
2
Modified Kappa accepted value: Fair=0.40-0.59; Good=0.60-0.74; Excellent=≥0.75

Questionnaire Reliability who are female, with age range of 31-40, with
at least college degree, with monthly household
Pilot testing of the resulting 48 items for in- income of >Php20,000 and married with at least
ter-rater reliability analysis was done to deter- one child. Several studies showed similar trend
mine the degree of agreement among actual stating that the population in the highest quartile
raters and to determine the effectiveness of the of awareness are of the same characteristics
structure and content of the questionnaire. Ta- as in this study (Bonaccio et al., 2013; Liang et
ble 2 shows the profile characteristics of the re- al., 2019). Comparing the data from the latest
spondents (Section A) and their corresponding report of Food and Nutrition Research Institute
KAP scores. (2016), findings showed that higher cases of
CVD risk factors in the country are found in fe-
Results showed that more than half of the total male and adults with age ranging from 40.0 to
respondents passed the KAP scores (K=66%; 49.9. However, the same report showed a sig-
A=74%; P=56%) however, only the attitude as- nificantly positive correlation between CVD risk
sessment (Amean±SD=72.7%±1.95) showed a good and higher socioeconomic status in contrast to
score rating. Knowledge (Kmean±SD=58.9%±1.77) this study (Duante et al., 2019; DOST-FNRI,
and practice level (Pmean±SD=58.2%±1.58) of the 2016). In addition, providing the information for
participants were found to be on the average current medications and working mobility were
rating scale. Statistical analysis showed that included to let researchers link and confirm
knowledge scores were both significant to at- the risk of every respondent to the result of the
titude (p-value: 0.008) and practice (p-value: KAP assessment. The classification followed
<0.001) scores. Results implied that with at the guidelines of American College of Sports
least average knowledge level on cholester- Medicine (ACSM) wherein “active” are those
ol management can result to good attitude but with moderate to intense activities for at least
average lifestyle practice scores. Higher rates 30 minutes for ≥5 days/week while “sedentary”
of KAP scores were observed from participants are those with the same intensity of work but for
only <5 days/week (Bennett et al., 2006).

Issue No. 9 51
Table 2. Profile characteristic and KAP scores of the respondents.

n1 (%) with PASSING SCORES2

Characteristics N (%)
Knowledge Attitude Practice
Sex
Male 25 (50%) 14 (56%) 17 (68%) 11 (44%)
Female 25 (50%) 19 (76%) 20 (80%) 17 (68%)
Age Group3
20-30 0% - - -
31-40 27 (54%) 19 (70%) 22 (81%) 17 (63%)
41-50 23 (46%) 14 (61%) 15 (65%) 11 (48%)
Educattional Attainment
Highschool graduate 1 (2%) 0% 1 (100%) 0%
College level 11 (22%) 4 (36%) 6 (55%) 5 (45%)
College graduate 35 (70%) 26 (74%) 27 (77%) 26 (74%)
Post graduate 3 (6%) 3 (100%) 3 (100%) 3 (100%)
Current Employment
Employed 32 (64%) 24 (75%) 21 (66%) 21 (66%)
Self-employed 8 (16%) 5 (63%) 8 (100%) 4 (50%)
Out of work > 1 year 3 (6%) 1 (33%) 2 (67%) 0%
Out of work < 1 year 2 (4%) 1 (50%) 2 (100%) 1 (50%)
Homemaker 5 (10%) 2 (40%) 4 (80%) 2 (40%)
Monthly Household Income (Php)
< 10,000 1 (2%) 0% 1 (100%) 0%
10,000-20,000 19 (38%) 9 (47%) 9 (47%) 5 (26%)
20,001-40,000 19 (38%) 15 (79%) 16 (84%) 14 (74%)
> 40,000 11 (22%) 9 (82%) 11 (100%) 9 (82%)
Civil Status
Single (without child) 18 (36%) 14 (78%) 13 (72%) 8 (44%)
Married (with child) 27 (54%) 17 (63%) 21 (78%) 18 (67%)
Widowed (with child) 5 (10%) 2 (40%) 3 (60%) 2 (40%)
Current maintenance in medication/s
Yes 5 (10%) 2 (40%) 4 (80%) 4 (80%)
No 45 (90%) 31 (78%) 33 (73%) 24 (53%)
Working Mobility
Active 30 (60%) 21 (70%) 23 (77%) 15 (50%)
Sedentary 20 (40%) 12 (60%) 14 (70%) 13 (65%)
TOTAL 50 (100%) 33 (66%) 37 (74%) 28 (56%)
1
n% is based from total N%
2
KAP passing score: >50%
3
For Age characteristic: µ/Mean=39; ∂/Variance=33.1; SD/Standard Deviation=5.8; MIN/Minimum value=31; MAX/Maximum
value=49

52 January - December 2020

Cronbach’s alpha provides a useful mode in Table 4. Difficulty and Discrimination indices of
analysis to determine the reliability of a certain the validated questionnaire.
item in its set. As the over-all observation for
previous analyses, the use of Cronbach’s alpha Items
Parameter Criteria Action
generally states that it increases as the correla- (N=40)a

tion between the items also increase (Friatma Difficulty Index

and Anhar, 2019). The accepted alpha value 0.90-1.00 Very easy 0 (0%) Reject
which indicates a good reliability is ≥0.70. The 0.71-0.89 Easy 7 (17.5%) Revise
alpha range of 0.70 to 0.90 is the desirable reli- 0.31-0.70 Moderate 30 (75%) Accepted
ability value and that ≥0.95 is not recommended 0.21-0.30 Difficult 3 (7.5%) Revise
as it may indicate item redundancy (Bonett and 0.20-0.00 Very difficult 0 (0%) Reject
Wright, 2014; Taber, 2017). Table 3 shows the Discrimination Index
result of determining the Cronbach’s alpha of
(-) negated Very poor 0 (0%) Reject
the KAP questionnaire (excluding Section A) as value
a test to its internal reliability among the respon- <0.20 Poor 0 (0%) Reject
dents. Results revealed that the effectivity of the 0.20-0.40 Moderate 13 (32.5%) Revise/
resulting items after the content validation were Reject

found to be reliable in KAP assessment on the 0.40-0.70 Good 24 (60%) Accepted

cholesterol management of the respondents. 0.70-1.00 Very good 3 (7.5%) Accepted
N represents the number of combined items where
a

Section A was excluded

Table 3. Cronbach’s alpha of KAP sections.

Section ∑vara Var2 b Dc CONCLUSION

B/C (Knowledge) 2.5812 7.9316 0.7228
D (Practice) 2.5040 8.0816 0.7395
The developed questionnaire showed evidence
of satisfactory reliability and validity that can be
E (Attitude) 0.8464 2.5200 0.7152
used to develop an evaluation tool for the risk as-
a
∑var is the summation of the variances of all items in a
section sessment of hypercholesterolemia among Filipi-
b
Var2 is the variance squared for all items
c
Represents the Cronbach’s alpha value no adults. Results have shown that the 48-item
resulting questionnaire can be used to assess
the level of knowledge, attitude and practices of
Questionnaire Difficulty and Discrimination Filipino adults about cholesterol and other re-
lated information. Associations between knowl-
Indices used to determine the item’s difficulty edge, attitude and practices and characteristic
and discrimination are shown in Table 4. An ide- profiles were observed to have impact on the
al multiple choice-based questionnaire should final score ratings of the respondents. Higher
have an average difficulty level of 30-70% with rates of KAP scores were observed from partic-
>0.25 discrimination index (Mahjabeen et al., ipants who are female, within the age range of
2018). In this study, items with 0.21-0.89 diffi- 31-40, with at least college degree, with monthly
culty index and ≥0.20 discrimination index were household income of >Php20,000 and who were
considered following the suggestions from the married with at least one child. The findings also
study of Friatma et al. (2019). Results showed revealed that knowledge scores were significant
that all validated items fulfilled the criteria of an to attitude and practice scores thus, it highlight-
ideal multiple-based questionnaire, with majori- ed the importance of interventions to educate
ty having moderate level of difficulty and good the community with dietary management and
discrimination.

Issue No. 9 53
the risk of hypercholesterolemia to the develop- cardiovascular disease morbidity and
ment of CVD. Further studies can be made to mortality: systematic review and me-
identify and overcome challenges for increasing ta-regression analysis. BMJ 338, b92.
respondent’s knowledge, attitude and practices
on cholesterol and CVD risk management. Brown, T. M., Tanner, R. M., Carson, A. P., et al.
(2013). Awareness, treatment, and con-
trol of LDL cholesterol are lower among
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS US adults with undiagnosed diabetes
versus diagnosed diabetes. Diabetes
The authors would like to acknowledge the Sci- Care 36(9), pp. 2734-2740.
ence Education Institute of the Department of
Science and Technology (SEI-DOST) for fund- Browne, R. H. (1995). On the use of a pilot sam-
ing this study. ple for sample size determination. Sta-
tistics in Medicine 14(17), pp. 1933-40.

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Bennett, J. A., Winters-Stone, K., Nail, L. M. and to assessment of adaptive behavior.
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Bonett, D. G. and Wright, T. A. (2014). Cron- overweight and obesity among adults
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(2009). Association between change in lidity, reliability, discrimination, difficulty
high density lipoprotein cholesterol and and distraction effectiveness in learning

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(2015). Content validity index and in- pha when developing and reporting
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Lee, Y. H., Lee, S. G., Lee, M. H., et al. (2014). World Health Organization. (2018). Non-com-
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treatment, and control of hypercholes-

Issue No. 9 55
Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices on
Food Safety and Compliance to Microbiological Safety
Guidelines among Vendors of Commonly Patronized Street
Foods in Poblacion, Batangas City, Philippines
Myla A. Argente a , Normahitta P. Gordoncillo a, Leila S. Africa, PhD a *, Corazon VC. Barba, PhD a,
Josefina T. Dizon, PhD b
a
Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna
b
Institute of Governance and Rural Development, College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines, Los
Baños, Laguna

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
This cross-sectional study explored the association between the microbial safety of street foods,
using E. coli load as indicator, and vendors’ knowledge, attitude, and practices on food safety and
the environmental conditions of vending stalls in Poblacion, Batangas City in Batangas, Philippines.
Thirty-five (35) street food vendors selling three commonly patronized street foods, namely, grilled
pork intestine (isaw), pork barbecue, and grilled coagulated chicken blood (betamax), served as
study respondents. Results showed that most street food vending sites were located in areas with
no running water supply and handwashing facilities. Moreover, although trash bins were available,
waste segregation was not practiced. Vendors had an average level of food safety knowledge and
good attitude towards food safety, although these did not translate into practice. Pork barbecue was
the safest among the street foods analyzed. Knowledge, attitude, and practice scores of respon-
dents were found to be inversely associated with the E. coli load of the three street foods based
on Spearman’s rank analysis. The environmental conditions of vending stalls showed moderate to
strong association with E. coli load, except for the availability of trash bins, using Cramer’s V. Study
results suggest the need to enhance the knowledge on food safety of selected street food vendors
and to upgrade their skills in proper purchasing, preparation, handling, and vending of street foods
to protect consumer health. Environmental conditions of food vending sites also need to be checked
for compliance with sanitation measures and guidelines.

Keywords: food safety, street foods, knowledge, attitude, practices

INTRODUCTION and role in the cultural and social heritage of

societies, but have also become essential in
Street foods include a wide range of ready-to- maintaining the nutritional status of populations.
eat foods and beverages sold and sometimes Afele (2006) stated that street foods do not only
prepared in public places, notably streets (Kro- provide a source of inexpensive, convenient,
on and D’Antuono, 2013). They are not only ap- and nutritious food for both the urban and ru-
preciated for their unique flavors, convenience, ral poor, but also serve as a source of alterna-

56 January - December 2020

tive food varieties that attract tourists and food patronize street foods have been reported to
enthusiasts. Globally, around 2.5 billion people suffer from foodborne diseases, such as diar-
are estimated to consume street foods every rhea, cholera, typhoid fever, and food poison-
day (Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], ing. Unsanitary handling of street foods was
2007). Thus, it is not surprising that the sale considered a cause of the 2013 foodborne dis-
and consumption of street foods are on the rise ease outbreak in Baguio City responsible for a
and will most probably continue to grow (World 1,100% increase in acute bloody diarrhea cases
Health Organization [WHO], 1996). and 23% increase in typhoid fever cases in the
city, as well as a 50% increase in Hepatitis A
In the Philippines and many other developing cases for the rest of the Cordillera Administra-
countries, the street food industry plays an im- tive Region (Agreda, 2013).
portant role in cities and towns, not only eco-
nomically, but also in meeting the food demands Batangas City is also burdened by health is-
of city dwellers (Cress-Williams, 2001). City au- sues involving street foods. Anecdotally,
thorities, academics, and local NGOs pointed Batangueños who are fond of street foods have
out that there are about 90,000 street vendors contracted foodborne illnesses, from simple diz-
in Bangladesh (Dhaka); 10,000 in Sri Lanka ziness to hepatitis. Such cases are seldom re-
(Colombo); 100,000 in Thailand (Bangkok); ported to the City Health Office, which explains
50,000 in Singapore; 47,000 in Malaysia (Kua- the lack of records and medical attention pro-
la Lumpur); 50,000 in the Philippines (Manila); vided. Street foods in the city are found outside
and 800,000 in South Korea (Seoul) (Bhowmilk, school gates, churches, parks, and inside malls.
2012). Besides offering business opportunities Preliminary interviews and observation among
for developing entrepreneurs, the sale of street selected street food vendors and consumers
foods is believed to provide a sizeable contri- showed that the three most patronized street
bution to the economy of developing countries, foods were grilled pork intestine (isaw), pork
since this can provide employment opportuni- barbecue, and grilled coagulated chicken blood
ties and requires low initial investment. (betamax). Consumers of these foods are usu-
ally adolescents and adults.
The consumption of street foods, however, has
become an important public health issue due The continued development of the city has driv-
to the widespread foodborne diseases brought en the proliferation of small- to medium- scale
about by the mushrooming of street food ven- enterprises, including street food vending,
dors who lack adequate understanding of basic which had become a thriving business and pro-
food safety principles. Major sources contribut- vided income to more people. This underlines
ing to microbial contamination are the following: the importance of considering cleanliness and
(1) place of preparation; (2) utensils for cooking safety concerns in consuming street foods. A
and serving; (3) raw materials; (4) length of time review of existing literature indicated that few
the cooked foods are exposed to critical tem- studies have dwelled on street food safety in
perature; and (5) personal hygiene of vendors the Philippines, especially in Batangas, in terms
(Maxwell et al., 2000). In addition, street food of microbial and nutritional properties. In addi-
vending is perceived to be a major public health tion, very little is known about how street food
risk due to the lack of basic infrastructure and vendors perceive and prioritize food safety. This
services, as well as the difficulty in controlling study, therefore, explored the knowledge, atti-
the large numbers of street food vending oper- tude, and practices of street food vendors and
ations due to their diversity, mobility, and tem- their association with the microbial safety of the
porary nature. In view of these, people who three commonly patronized street foods.

Issue No. 9 57
MATERIALS AND METHODS Data Collection Instruments and Procedures

Research Design Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge,

Attitude, and Practices
Utilizing a cross-sectional research design, this
study determined the current street food vend- Permission to conduct the study was secured
ing condition in Batangas City. Methods of data from the Office of the Mayor of Batangas City.
collection used were interview, observation, and Upon approval, street food vendors were in-
laboratory analysis. formed about the purpose of the study, assured
of the confidentiality of responses, and asked
Study Area and Selection of Study Partici- to sign an informed consent indicating approv-
pants al to subject their products to microbial testing.
An interview guide questionnaire was employed
The study was conducted in the 24 población with the following components: (a) vendor’s
barangays of Batangas City (Poblacion 1 to socioeconomic profile (b) environmental condi-
24) in Luzon, Philippines. It focused on ven- tion of the stall; (c) characteristics of the street
dors of the three most popular street foods in foods; (d) nutritional value of the street foods;
Poblacion, Batangas City, namely, grilled pork (e) knowledge test on food safety for vendors;
intestine (isaw), pork barbecue and grilled co- (f) items on attitudes regarding food safety; and
agulated chicken blood (betamax). In this study, (g) self-reported food safety practices. Items
“street food vendor” refers to an individual who for assessing knowledge, attitude, and practic-
sells grilled pork intestine, pork barbecue, and es were based on several studies (Angelilo et
grilled coagulated chicken blood and who is al., 2000; Bolton et al., 2008; Ansari-Lari et al.,
knowledgeable about how street food ingredi- 2010); WHO’s (1996) Five Keys to Safer Food
ents are purchased, stored, prepared, and sold Manual; and FAO’s Guidelines for Assessing
to consumers. Nutrition-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and
Practices (Marías and Glasauer, 2014).
To describe food safety knowledge, attitude,
and practices of street food vendors and the en- The food safety knowledge section, composed
vironmental condition of vending stalls, vendors of 20 questions with three possible answers
selected for this study must (1) sell the three (“true”, “false”, and “do not know”), was de-
commonly patronized street foods; (2) have per- signed to measure the vendor’s understanding
manent stalls in any of the población barangays of various food safety aspects. Each correct an-
(1-24) in Batangas City; (3) provide consent to swer was given one point, while no mark was
take part in the study; (4) agree to have their given to incorrect or ‘do not know’ answers.
products undergo microbial testing. Purposive Scores were then converted to percentage, with
sampling was used in this study. From the 70 score <50% (0-9 points) indicating poor food
street food vendors identified in the preliminary safety knowledge; scores between 50 to 75%
study, 46 were found eligible and were oriented (10-15 points) indicating average (adequate)
about the research. Only 35 vendors provided knowledge; and scores >75% (16-20 points) in-
consent and agreed to participate in the study. dicating good knowledge (Angelilo et al., 2000;
Bolton et al., 2008; Ansari-Lari et al., 2010).
Food safety attitude and practices of the se-
lected street food vendors were also evaluated

58 January - December 2020

using this scoring system. The interview guide in transit, samples were kept in a cooler box
questionnaires were translated into Filipino and packed with ice cubes. LQCC was commis-
were pretested accordingly. Interrater reliability sioned to do the E. Coli analysis. The laboratory
or test-retest reliability for the knowledge, atti- used the pour plate method in identifying E. coli
tude, and practices sections were 90%, 89%, load in the food samples. In this method, melted
and 95%, respectively. cooled agar is added to each food sample and
is aseptically dropped into separate petri films
Environmental Sanitation (Feng et al., 2002). A sample with no E. coli load
(0) indicates that the food has an acceptable
Data on the environmental condition of street amount of E. coli and is safe for consumption.
food stalls (e.g., availability of running water On the other hand, a food sample with an E.
supply, handwashing facility, trash bins, and coli load (≥ 1 CFU/gram or colony forming unit)
separate trash bins for different kinds of wastes means that the food is unsafe (International
for hygienic purposes) were collected through Commission on Microbiological Specifications
an observation checklist. The appearance of for Foods, 1998).
major raw materials/ingredients was also ob- Data Analysis
served using sensory characteristics, such as
odor (no foul smell) and color (freshness), as Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage
listed on the observation checklist. distribution, mean, standard deviation, median,
and range) were used to analyze vendors’ so-
Microbial Analysis of Street Foods cioeconomic profile, environmental condition,
and characteristics of the three commonly pa-
Considering the cost of microbial load testing, tronized street foods in Poblacion, Batangas
food samples were tested for Escherichia coli City.
only. The presence of E. coli in food suggests
poor hygiene during food preparation, handling, Spearman’s rank-order correlation was used to
and storage; lack of reheating; and improper determine the association between street ven-
vending temperatures (Umoh and Odoba, 2009; dors’ knowledge, attitude, and practices and the
Tambekar et al., 2011). With only E. coli to test, microbial safety of the three commonly patron-
the study ensured that precautions in the proto- ized street foods. The degree of association is
col for testing were followed, such as standard very weak if r = 0.01-0.19; weak if r = 0.20-0.39;
collection and handling of food samples and moderate if r = 0.40-0.59; strong if r = 0.60-0.79;
the conduct of triplicate analyses to detect and and very strong if r = 0.80-1 (BMJ Publishing,
count the microbial load of the microorganism. n.d.). Cramer’s V, on the other hand, was used
Food samples were tested at the Lipa Quality to determine the association between the mi-
Control Center (LQCC), a Food and Drug Au- crobial safety of the three commonly patronized
thority-recognized laboratory under its Labora- street foods and the environmental condition of
tory Recognition Program. the street food vending stalls. The degree of as-
sociation is very weak if v = 0.01-0.10; moderate
Microbial analyses of food samples sold for E. if v ≥ 0.10-0.30; and strong if v ≥ 0.30 (Kutztown
coli detection were done in triplicate. For each University of Pennsylvania, n.d.).
test, food samples weighing 50 g were collected
randomly from the stores of respondents from
3:00-6:00 in the afternoon and were placed in RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
separate containers with assigned codes. While
Socioeconomic Characteristics of Street

Issue No. 9 59
Food Vendors Table 1. Socioeconomic profile of street food
vendors
Majority of respondents (66%) were in the 40-
49- and 30-39-year-old age groups. The young- SOCIOECONOMIC VARIABLES N %
est street food vendor was 25 years old and the Age
eldest was 67, with a median age of 44 years <30 4 11
old. Majority (69%) were female, who made and
30-39 9 26
sold street foods to help their husbands provide
40-49 14 40
for family expenses instead of just staying in the
50-59 6 17
house. Sixty percent (60%) of the selected ven-
≥60 2 6
dors finished secondary level of education and
none reached college level. This indicates that Total 35 100

more vendors in this group have relatively low Median: 44 (25-67)

level of education. Similarly, a study conducted Sex
in Accra revealed that less educated persons, Male 11 31
particularly women, engaged in street food Female 24 69
vending (Maxwell et al., 2000). All respondents Total 35 100
have not attended any food safety training for Highest Educational Attainment
the past six months. Only one (1) had attended
Elementary 9 26
training through her own initiative several years
Secondary 21 60
ago. Most respondents (60%) acquired knowl-
Vocational 5 14
edge on street food vending through observa-
Total 35 100
tion, either with relatives or friends engaged in
the street food business. Some respondents Did not attend any food safety 35 100
training in the past six months
(29%) said that knowledge on street food vend-
Acquisition of knowledge on street food vending
ing was acquired through their parents, while
Observation 21 60
very few (11%) were taught by their co-workers.
Parents 10 29
In addition, none of them had undergone formal
training or education on preparing and selling Co-workers 4 11

street foods (Table 1). Total 35 100

Length of Experience in Street Food Vending (years)
More than one-third (37%) of respondents have Less than 1 year 1 3
been selling street foods for 15-21 years. The 1-7 7 20
longest experience in street food vending was 8-14 6 17
36 years, while the shortest was 6 months or 15-21 13 37
less than one year. The per capita income from 22-28 5 14
street food vending of nearly half of the selected
29-35 2 6
vendors (46%) was PhP 5,000.00-PhP 10,00.00
>35 1 3
per month, with a median per capita income of
Total 35 100
Php 11,000.00 and a range of Php 5,000.00-
PhP 23,300.00. Median (Range): 18 (<1-36)
Per Capita Income from Street Food Vending (PhP)
5,000-10,000.00 16 46
10,001-15,000.00 8 23
15,001-20,000.00 7 20
20,001-25,000.00 4 11
Total 35 100

60 January - December 2020

Characteristics of the Three Commonly coagulated chicken blood. On the other hand,
Patronized Street Foods the biggest serving size for grilled pork intestine
was 40 g, 45 g for pork barbecue, and 50 g for
Majority of grilled pork intestine and pork barbe- grilled coagulated chicken blood (Table 2).
cue sold weighed 21-30 g/serving, while most
(69%) grilled coagulated chicken blood samples Roughly all grilled pork intestines and grilled
weighed 31-40 g/serving. Specifically, serving coagulated chicken blood were sold at prices
sizes of the three commonly patronized street ranging from PhP 5.00 to PhP 10.00/serving,
foods were as follows: grilled pork intestine, 20- although one vendor sold it for more than PhP
40 g; pork barbecue, 20-45 g; and grilled co- 20.00/serving. For grilled coagulated chicken
agulated chicken blood, 35-50 g. The smallest blood, one store sold it for less than PhP 5.00/
serving size for both grilled pork intestine and serving while another sold it for PhP 16.00-PhP
pork barbecue was 20 g and 35 g for grilled 20.00/serving.

Table 2. Characteristics of the three commonly patronized street foods

GRILLED COAGULATED
GRILLED PORK INTESTINE PORK BARBECUE
VARIABLES CHICKEN BLOOD
N % N % n %
Serving Size (g)
41-50 0 0 1 3 11 31
31-40 1 3 0 0 24 69
21-30 30 86 31 89 0 0
≤20 4 11 3 8 0 0
Median (Range): 25 (20-40) 25 (20-45) 38 (35-50)
Selling Price (PhP)
>20.00 1 3 1 3 0 0
16.00-20.00 0 0 0 0 1 3
11.00-15.00 0 0 29 83 0 0
5.00-10.00 34 97 5 14 33 94
<5.00 0 0 0 0 1 3
Median (Range): 5.00 (5.00-35.00) 15.00 (10.00-40:00) 5.00 (3.00-20.00)
Cost/gram (PhP/g) 0.20 0.60 0.13
Appearance of Raw Material/Ingredient
Fresh 35 100 35 100 5 14
Pre-cook, Coagulated 0 0 0 0 30 86

The lowest selling price per serving of grilled PhP 15.00, with the lowest selling price at PhP
pork intestine was PhP 5.00 while the highest 10.00/serving and the highest selling price at
selling price was PhP 35.00. For grilled coag- PhP 40.00/serving.
ulated chicken blood, PhP 3.00/serving was
the lowest selling price while PhP 20.00/serv- Using the median serving sizes and the median
ing was the highest. Most vendors (83%) sold selling prices of the three commonly patronized
pork barbecue at a price range of PhP 11.00- street foods, price per gram was estimated as

Issue No. 9 61
follows: PhP 0.20/g for grilled pork intestine, blood to add flavorings, such as sugar and bay
PhP 0.60/g for pork barbecue, and PhP 0.16/g leaf to improve taste.
for grilled coagulated chicken blood. The varied
selling prices of street foods among vendors In terms of the type of preparation, both grilled
may be due to differences in production costs pork intestine and grilled coagulated chicken
and serving sizes. blood sold were pre-cooked before grilling and
selling. Only 34% of selected street food ven-
All raw materials used in preparing the three dors pre-cooked pork barbecue prior to selling.
commonly patronized street foods were pur- Majority (66%) of street food vendors grilled the
chased from the public market. Aside from the barbecue on site because, according to them,
availability of raw materials for street foods, pork meat tends to be tough if pre-cooked and
the public market was also accessible to ven- later reheated.
dors, even as early as two o’clock in the morn-
ing. Vendors also had their own suki or regular Environmental Condition of Street Food
source from whom they buy raw materials at Stalls
a discounted price, especially if purchased in
bulk. Nearly all (86%) of them purchased pork Almost one-third (32%) of the 35 street food
intestine, pork, and chicken blood every day, stalls were located inside a compound that has
which they claimed ensures the freshness of in- roof and satisfactory hygienic condition. All food
gredients. Respondents who did not purchase stalls had either display cabinets or covered
raw materials daily (14%) said it was tiring and containers where foods were kept. Other food
difficult to do. To avoid spoilage, these respon- stalls were located in areas that were kept clean
dents claimed that they ensure proper storage and litter-free (17%); at the public market (17%);
of purchased ingredients. near an open canal (14%); close to a garbage
dumpsite (14%); and near tricycle/jeepney ter-
During the actual purchasing of raw materials, minals (6%). The last four locations were prone
it was observed that pork intestine and pork to smoke and dust contaminations. In addition,
were bought fresh. There were no signs that during peak hours of operation, street food ven-
these raw materials were stale. All suppliers dors found it difficult to maintain the cleanliness
claimed that raw materials came fresh from the of the vending site regardless of their location,
slaughterhouse. In the case of chicken blood, resulting in dirty surroundings. Street food ven-
however, only 14% of respondents purchased dors were also not so particular with the cleanli-
fresh blood while majority (86%) purchased ness of the location as long as there are poten-
pre-cooked coagulated chicken blood. Respon- tial consumers (Table 3).
dents who bought raw blood said this ensured
the freshness and quality of the ingredient, Almost all (89%) street food stalls had no avail-
even if preparation was more tedious compared able running water supply, as well as handwash-
to purchasing pre-cooked coagulated chicken ing facilities. The remaining 11% with available
blood. In addition, fresh or raw blood was more running water supply and handwashing facilities
affordable (PhP 20.00-PhP 25.00/kilo) com- were part of a group of street food stalls locat-
pared to pre-cooked coagulated chicken blood ed inside a compound. Respondents said it was
(PhP 45.00-PhP 55.00/kilo). Vendors who usu- difficult to have available running water supply
ally buy pre-cooked blood mentioned that it was since the stalls were mostly located at side-
a time-saving practice, and that food safety and walks of busy streets, near tricycle and jeepney
quality were not compromised since they have terminals, and other places with no access to
trusted suppliers. They also reboil pre-cooked running water supply. Hence, water used for

62 January - December 2020

food preparation was taken from their respec- Level of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude,
tive homes. Lack of available running water also and Practices of Street Food Vendors
resulted in the unavailability of clean water for
handwashing, food preparation, and cleaning of Results of the knowledge test on food safety
utensils and the immediate area. among the selected street food vendors ranged
from 7 to 20, with a median score of 12, indicat-
Based on observation and interviews with the ing an average level of food safety knowledge.
selected street food vendors, nearly all (91%) After comparing their actual responses with
street food stalls had trash bins. Only 31% of the correct answers, more than half of vendors
these, however, had available trash bins for (54%) obtained average scores. This could be
waste segregation. In addition, most available attributed to the length of experience in the food
trash bins were not covered and some had vending business, since most respondents had
leaks. engaged in this industry for more than 3 years.
Some vendors (14%), however, scored low
on the knowledge test, which could be due to
Table 3. Environmental condition of street food the low educational attainment of respondents
stalls (Tabl­e 4).

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION N %
Table 4. Distribution of street food vendors
Location of the food stall
based on food safety knowledge scores
Inside a compound 11 32
Near the public market 6 17
N %
Kept clean and litter-free 6 17
Knowledge
Too close to an open canal 5 14
Poor 5 14.3
Too close to garbage dumpsite 5 14
Average 19 54.3
Near the tricycle/jeepney terminal 2 6
Good 11 31.4
Total 35 100
Total 35 100
Availability of running water supply
Median (Range):12 (7-20)
Available 4 11
Attitude
Not Available 31 89
Poor 0 0
Total 35 100
Average 11 31
Availability of handwashing facility
Good 24 69
Available 4 11
Total 35 100
Not Available 31 89
Median (Range): 190 (153-231)
Total 35 100
Practice
Availability of trash bins
Poor 0 0
Available 32 91
Average 13 37
With separate trash bins for different 31
kinds of wastes 10 Good 22 63
No separate trash bins for different Total 35 100
22 69
kinds of wastes
Not Available 3 9 Median (Range): 132 (103-158)

Total 35 100

Issue No. 9 63
Respondents had a median food safety attitude ism (Table 6). Sampled grilled pork intestine
score of 190, with a range from 153 to 231, in- and coagulated chicken blood showed opposite
dicating good attitude towards food safety. With results, with more samples (54% and 74%, re-
regard to score distribution, 69% had good atti- spectively) found to be contaminated with E. coli
tude towards food safety while almost one-third than those found safe for consumption (46%
(31%) had average attitude scores. None of the and 26%, respectively). In addition, the median
street food vendors exhibited poor attitude to- counts of E. coli load for grilled pork intestine
wards food safety (Table 4). and coagulated chicken blood both exceeded
the value recommended by the International
The selected vendors had a median self- Commission on Microbiological Specifications
assess­ed food safety practices score of 132, for Foods (1998) (0 = safe; ≥1 not safe), making
with a range from 103 to 158, indicating that them generally unsafe for consumption. More-
they general­ly perceived themselves as hav- over, results indicated that the risk of E. coli
ing satisfact­ory practices on food safety. Spe- contamination was more likely to occur in grilled
cifically, 63% of vendors perceived themselves coagulated chicken blood and less likely in pork
as having good food safety practices while the barbecue (Table 5).
remaining 37% as having adequate practices.
None of the respondents perceived having poor The ingredients used could be one of the caus-
food safety practices (Table 4). The good rat- es of contamination of grilled pork intestine and
ings on attitude and perceived practices could grilled coagulated chicken blood. Both street
be explained by the nature of the questionnaire, foods use internal organs (intestine and blood)
wherein most respondents chose socially ac- as main ingredient, which naturally contains
ceptable answers. Results of their actual prac- harmful microorganisms such as E. coli. Major-
tices based on an observation checklist showed ity of vendors purchased pre-cooked chicken
poorer scores compared to their perceived blood to save time for preparation. Since they
practices. What they claimed they were doing had no knowledge regarding how the ingredi-
may be true on paper but not in reality. ents were prepared, the food quality and safety
were not assured. Vendors stated that unlike
Classification of the Three Commonly pork barbecue, which was mostly cooked on-
Patronized Street Foods using E. coli as site, the other two street foods were usually
Indicator brought to the stalls pre-cooked. Thus, these
street foods had not undergone prolonged heat-
Majority (71%) of the pork barbecue sampled ing, which may have resulted in under-cooking.
from those sold by respondents were safe or For grilled coagulated chicken blood, prolonged
had no E. coli, while the remaining 29% were heating was avoided since they tended to be
found to be contaminated with the microorgan- tough when heated for a long time.

Table 5. Classification of the three commonly patronized street foods using E. coli as indicator

GRILLED PORK GRILLED COAGULATED

PORK BARBECUE
CLASSIFICATION INTESTINE CHICKEN BLOOD
N % N % n %
Safe 25 71 16 46 9 26
Not Safe 10 29 19 54 26 74
Total 35 100 35 100 35 100
*values are means of three trials

64 January - December 2020

Association of Street Food Vendors’ of the same cutting board for raw and cooked
Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices with foods (40%); proper temperature for cooking
Microbial Safety meat (23%); and presence of microbes in the
body parts of food handlers (40%). These food
Knowledge, attitude, and practices on food safety aspects are critical to food safety and
safety of the selected street food vendors were could explain why majority of street food sam-
inversely associated with the E. coli load of the ples were found to be contaminated with E. coli.
three commonly patronized street foods (Table
6). This means that the higher the scores on In the study conducted by Susanna et al. (2015)
knowledge, attitude, and practices, the lower in Indonesia, results revealed that the level of
the level of contamination. Thus, selected street knowledge of food handlers was the primary
food vendors who are knowledgeable and have contributing factor to food contamination. Food
good attitude and practices on food safety are handlers who had poor knowledge about food
likely to produce safe street foods. Conversely, borne diseases were three times more suscepti-
street food vendors with poor knowledge, atti- ble to E. coli contamination. In addition, a study in
tude, and practices on food safety are likely to Southeastern Nigeria noted that food handlers’
produce foods contaminated with E. coli. knowledge about food safety and sanitation was
strongly correlated to E. coli contamination and
that their knowledge was in turn related to their
Table 6. Association of knowledge, attitude,
educational level (Musa and Akande, 2003). In
and practices with E. coli count of street foods
various studies conducted to assess the food
safety knowledge of street food vendors, it has
STREET
FOODS KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE PRACTICE been observed that vendors generally have
Grilled Pork poor levels of food safety knowledge (FAO,
-0.77 -0.61 -0.55
Intestine 2013; Rane, 2011). The relatively low level of
Pork -0.69 -0.45 -0.40 education among food handlers seemed to be a
Barbecue
factor contributing to their lack of knowledge on
Grilled
Coagulated food safety, which consequently increases the
-0.59 -0.55 -0.42
Chicken risk of E. coli contamination of foods.
Blood
Degree of association: r = 0.8-1, very strong; r = 0.6-0.79,
strong; r = 0.4-0.59, moderately strong; r = 0.2-0.39, Street food vendors’ attitude exhibited a mod-
weak; r = 0.0-0.19, very weak or no relationship
erate inverse association with the E. coli load
of the three commonly patronized street foods.
As discussed previously, most street food This could be attributed to the attitude of the
vendors in this study had an average level of street food vendors during purchasing. Almost
knowledge on food safety. While they reached all respondents failed to check the sensory
elementary and secondary levels, none of them characteristics of the main ingredient (pork in-
had tertiary education or attended food safety testine for isaw, pork for barbecue, and chicken
training for the past six (6) months. These fac- blood for betamax). Ingredients were purchased
tors may have contributed to the level of knowl- from their trusted suppliers already packed in
edge of street food vendors on food safety, since plastic bags ready for pickup. When asked why
low level of education is likely to promote lack they did not inspect the ingredients, respon-
of appreciation for food handling practices and dents said they trusted their suppliers because
presents potential risk to food safety (Nurudeen they have been regular patrons since starting
et al., 2014). As a result, very few respondents their businesses. Likewise, the characteristics
obtained correct answers regarding the use of the ingredient could also be a factor. Street

Issue No. 9 65
food vendors usually purchased coagulated or observed among selected street food vendors
pre-cooked chicken blood to save time in prepa- during the interview.
ration. Quality and safety were not guaranteed,
however, since they did not see how the ingre- Association of Environmental Condition of
dients were prepared. Street Food Vending with Microbial Safety

Vendors’ practices in terms of food safety also Table 7 shows the association between the en-
showed a moderate inverse association with the vironmental condition of street food vending and
E. coli load of the three commonly patronized microbial safety of the three commonly patron-
street foods. This can be due to the respon- ized street foods. Based on the results, E.col­i
dents’ inconsistency in performing food safety load was associated with location. Safety of
practices related to personal hygiene, purchase, grilled pork intestine and pork barbecue showed
storage, food preparation, and vending. Street strong association, while safety of grilled coag-
food vendors did not regularly wash hands af- ulated chicken blood exhibited moderate asso-
ter touching any body part. Avoiding sneezing ciation. This suggests that street foods sold at
or coughing over the food, particularly when it is clean and conducive vending sites were less
ready to be served, was also not regularly prac- likely to be contaminated with E. coli, while
ticed by the respondents. Both may contribute those sold at dirty areas were most likely to be
to the presence of E. coli in the food (Blood and contaminated.
Curtis, 1995), indicating poor manufacturing
practices and inadequate hygiene standards. Based on observation, although street food
Study results agree with the findings in Indone- vending locations were different categorically,
sia (Susanna et al., 2015) that established the they share one common characteristic – having
association between food handling practices of vending sites unconducive to food preparation
canteen workers and E. coli contamination in and selling. These included locations that were
foods sold from food stalls in canteens around either too close to an open canal or a garbage
the campus. Pathogens present in street-vend- dump site, inside a compound, or near tricycle
ed foods come from different sources and prac- or jeepney terminals. Only six (6) street food
tices, such as improper food handling. Utensils vendors (32%) were able to keep their food
and equipment may also lead to microbial cross stalls clean and litter-free (Table 5). During peak
contamination of food with S. aureus, E. coli, hours of operation, selected street food vendors
and Shigella due to contaminated water, dish- found it difficult to maintain the cleanliness of
cloth, and handlers (WHO, 1989). This was also food stalls, resulting in dirty surrounding and
contaminated street foods.

Table 7. Association between the environmental condition of street food vending and microbial safety
of street foods

AVAILABILITY
AVAILABILITY AVAILABILITY
OF HAND AVAILABILITY
STREET FOODS LOCATION OF RUNNING OF SEPARATE
WASHING OF TRASHBINS
WATER SUPPLY TRASH BINS
FACILITY
Grilled Pork Intestine 0.85 0.73 0.73 0.17 0.42
Pork Barbecue 0.79 0.45 0.45 0.03 0.26
Grilled Coagulated Chicken 0.23 0.64 0.64 0.96 0.31
Blood
Degree of association: v = 0.01-0.10, very weak; v = > 0.10-0.30, moderate; v = > 0.30, strong

66 January - December 2020

Availability of running water supply and hand- CONCLUSION AND
washing facilities were also associated with the RECOMMENDATIONS
E. coli load of street foods sampled, with street
food vendors more likely to produce safe foods In terms of environmental condition, most street
when there is available running water supply food vendors surveyed in this study had stalls
and handwashing facilities. located inside a compound, had no available
water and handwashing facilities, and had avail-
In this study, four (4) out of 35 (11%) street food able trash bins but were not segregated for dif-
stalls had running water supply and handwash- ferent kinds of wastes, indicating that they do
ing facilities, which the vendors did not fully uti- not practice waste segregation. Respondents’
lize, particularly during handwashing. Instead, level of food safety knowledge was average,
street food vendors preferred wiping their hands while food safety attitude and practices were
using cloth or basahan that was also employed rated good.
for cleaning surfaces used in food preparation.
According to respondents, frequent handwash- Using E. coli as indicator of microbial safety,
ing, especially when tired from preparing street study results indicated that majority of pork bar-
foods, might result in pasma, which they claimed becue sold by street food vendors had no E. coli
was not good for their health. Water supply and content and are safe for consumption, while the
handwashing facilities were used by street food opposite was true for grilled pork intestine and
vendors for cleaning cooking and serving uten- grilled coagulated chicken blood.
sils and by consumers to wash their hands after
eating street foods. Knowledge, attitude, and practices of street
food vendors were inversely associated with the
Statistical results revealed a very weak associ- E. coli load of the three commonly patronized
ation between availability of trash bins and E. street foods. An association was found between
coli load of pork barbecue. It could be inferred the environmental condition of the street food
that the availability of trash bins at food stalls vending site with E. coli load, although the level
of the selected street food vendors does not of association was weak between the availabil-
prevent E. coli contamination of pork barbecue. ity of trash bins and pork barbecue (v = 0.028).
When it comes to the availability of separate
trash bins to segregate wastes by type and Street food vending is of great importance to
its relation to E. coli load, only pork barbecue the community, especially in terms of provid-
showed moderate association. Microbial safety ing employment, income, and inexpensive and
of grilled pork intestine and grilled coagulated nutritious foods to the population. As such, the
chicken were both strongly associated with the following recommendations are forwarded to-
availability of separate trash bins for different wards improving the condition of street food
kinds of wastes. This could be due to improper vending, as well as ensuring food safety to pro-
waste disposal practices of street food vendors. tect consumer health.
Although some (31%) have separate trash bins
as observed during the interview, the trash bins 1. The city government of Batangas
were not covered while some have leaks. In should conduct training every six
addition, trash bins were located near the food months to improve the knowledge,
preparation area, which can affect the safety of attitude, and practices of street food
food samples. vendors and address issues on per-
sonal hygiene, purchase, safe storage,
and proper food handling during food

Issue No. 9 67
 preparation and vending. Street food ACKNOWLEDGMENT
vendors can benefit from trainings that
may be provided by the local govern- Special thanks to the Department of Science
ment unit on a regular basis by gaining and Technology (DOST) Accelerated Science
knowledge and improving attitude and and Technology Human Resource Development
practices on the aforementioned criti- Program (ASTHRDP) for the full financial sup-
cal dimensions of food and microbial port and scholarship grant.
safety.

2. Allocation of spaces conducive to food REFERENCES

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70 January - December 2020

Grain Quality of Milled Rice in Various Supermarkets in
Dasmariñas City, Cavite
Arvin Paul P. Tuaño a *, Kristina Tamyl M. Lasam b, Christian Jeshua M. Vicente b
a
Institute of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna
b
Department of Chemistry, College of Humanities and Sciences, De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute,
Dasmariñas City, Cavite

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
All open-bin milled rices (n = 44) sold in selected supermarkets along Emilio Aguinaldo Highway in
Dasmariñas City, Cavite were collected in July-August 2017 and subjected to grain quality analysis,
specifically those affecting rice cooking and eating quality. Rice with intermediate apparent amylose
content (AC) (mean AC 21.4%) predominated this sample set, followed by high AC. Alkali spreading
value (ASV) showed 21 out of 44 samples to have intermediate gelatinization temperature (GT)
with mean ASV of 4.5. AC-GT combinations showed that supermarket milled rices in Dasmariñas,
Cavite were predominantly of the intermediate AC-intermediate GT type which have soft texture
when cooked. This was followed by high AC-intermediate GT type which have medium texture. Gel
consistency (GC) test showed that most of the high-AC samples were hard on cooling but the overall
mean GC of 58 mm corresponded to medium GC. Optimum cooking time (OCT) was found to be
around 17-19 min. Market price was found negatively correlated with AC and OCT while ASV and
price had a highly positive correlation. OCT was significantly positively correlated with AC but was
negatively correlated with ASV. Determining the grain quality of market rice samples in supermarkets
or public markets is of significance especially in market milled rice grading and clustering relative
to rice end-use quality and price. Results of this study serve as baseline data on Philippine market
milled rice quality. The survey started in 2012 at PhilRice Los Baños and was geared towards helping
Filipino consumers and inspectors recognize common rice quality types in the local market.

Keywords: apparent amylose content; AC-GT combination; alkali spreading value; gelatinization
temperature; gel consistency; market price; milled rice; optimum cooking time; supermarket

INTRODUCTION of proteins and 5.63 g of fats per capita con-

sumption per day (Bersales, 2015). Rice, there-
Rice is the most commonly consumed staple fore, is considered one of the most significant
food included in the diet among Filipinos (Ju- cereals of great interest especially in developing
liano, 2010). The Philippines has gained the countries like the Philippines (Juliano, 2007).
highest percentage increase in milled rice pro- Consumers now tend to choose the kind of rice
duction in 2014, with an average of 5.05% since with the best eating quality based on their pref-
the year 2009 (Galvez, 2014). Rice primarily erences (Juliano, 2010; Juliano, 2019). Physical
provides dietary carbohydrates meeting the ca- appearance of market rice is the primary factor
loric requirements of the Filipino consumers. It for the consumers’ choice followed by its cook-
supplies around 1,117.16 g of calories, 23.47 g ing and eating quality (Unnevehr, 1986; Juliano
et al. 1989; Tuaño et al., 2016).

Issue No. 9 71
Rice starch, comprising 80-90% of the milled sumers’ decision in purchasing rice. Tuaño et
rice grain, is composed of a highly branched al. (2016) revealed that intermediate AC has
glucan fraction called amylopectin and an es- been of the predominant rice type in the Phil-
sentially linearly glucan portion termed amylose ippine market followed by high AC. However,
(Juliano, 2007; Juliano and Tuaño, 2019). The until now, there has been no report providing
key determining factor of Philippine rice end- information on the grain quality profile of market
use quality is the apparent amylose content rices in Cavite, particularly in Dasmariñas City.
(AC). Philippine rice can be categorized based This study aimed to evaluate the grain quality
on AC: waxy (0–2%), low (10–17%), interme- of milled rices collected from selected super-
diate (17–22%), and high (>22%) AC (Tuaño markets along Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, Das-
et al., 2015). AC affects the hardness or soft- mariñas City, Cavite – the main national road of
ness of the rice once cooked. Nonwaxy rices the city. It focused on determining physicochem-
having low AC result in soft cooked rice while ical properties of supermarket milled rice sam-
those with high AC result in harder, dry and flaky ples specifically AC, GT via the alkali spreading
cooked rice. In contrast, waxy rice which con- value (ASV), gel consistency (GC), and optimum
tains around 0-2% AC and mainly amylopectin cooking time (OCT). Correlations of these grain
is stickier when cooked as compared to non- quality traits and the market price of the sam-
waxy rice (Juliano, 2007; Tuaño et al., 2014). ples in this study were also determined. Grain
Waxy rice is commonly known as glutinous rice quality data from this study serve as additional
or “malagkit” in the Philippines. Gelatinization baseline information to be included in the Phil-
temperature (GT) is another functional property ippine market rice quality survey which started
of the rice grain which denotes the temperature in 2012 at PhilRice Los Baños. The survey aims
of irreversible swelling of native starch granules to help Filipino consumers, market rice quality
in hot water. GT is usually measured via the inspectors, and interested stakeholders in prop-
alkali spreading value (ASV) in rice breeding erly identifying rice quality types in the market
programs. ASV is inversely proportional to GT, and eventual policy recommendations related to
wherein low GT has ASV 6–7, intermediate GT milled rice grading, rice quality clustering, and
has ASV 4–5 and intermediate-high to high GT market price of milled rice.
has ASV 1–3 (Juliano, 2007; Juliano, 2010).

In the Philippines, consumers usually buy milled MATERIALS AND METHODS

rice with intermediate to low AC due to the soft-
ness of cooked rice which Filipinos generally Rice Sample Collection and Preparation
prefer. However, there are few who prefer the
high-AC ones because it provides longer sati- Forty-four (44) supermarket milled rice samples
ation (Trinidad et al., 2014; Tuaño et al., 2016). were collected from all open-bins in selected
Unnevehr (1986) has shown that consumers in supermarkets along Emilio Aguinaldo Highway
Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines prefer in Dasmariñas City, Cavite, namely, Savemore
market rices that are properly milled, more pol- Salitran, Puregold Dasmariñas, Waltermart Su-
ished, and have good aroma. It has been shown permarket, Robinsons’ Pala-pala and SM Das-
that aside from the market price, whiteness of mariñas. Rice samples (250 g) were purchased
the grain as well as percentage of whole grains and collected in July-August 2017. Open-bin
are the primary factors affecting the milled rice rices were mixed thoroughly to ensure sample
choice of the Filipino consumers (Juliano et al., homogeneity prior to collecting 250-g represen-
1989; Mangaoang et al., 2002). Satiety factor, tative sample. Price per kg and brand names/
taste, age, and aroma may also affect con- market labels of the samples were noted. A

72 January - December 2020

portion (8 g) of each of the rice samples was milled rice samples was expressed as percent
ground to pass through 60-mesh sieve using a AC (milled rice basis).
cyclone mill, transferred into in a polyethylene
plastic bag, and stored in a freezer at -10°C Alkali Spreading Value Determination as an
until further use in physicochemical analysis. Index of Gelatinization Temperature
The rest of the milled grains were also stored
separately in a refrigerator until further use. All Gelatinization temperature (GT) type was deter-
reagents used were analytical grade reagents mined via the alkali spreading value (ASV) test.
and distilled water was used in this study, unless Triplicate six whole grains of milled rice were
otherwise specified. placed in separate 60 x 15 mm plastic petri
dishes. Then, 1.7% potassium hydroxide (KOH)
Apparent Amylose Content Determination was added ensuring that all the grains were
submerged separately in the solution. Samples
Apparent amylose content (AC) was analyzed in were allowed to stand for 23 h at room tempera-
triplicate following Juliano et al. (2012) method ture. Degree of grain disintegration was scored
and the proposed AC ranges for Philippine rice using the 7-point scale described by Little et al.
by Tuaño et al. (2015). In a 100-mL volumetric (1988) and GT type was noted for each sample
flask, 100 mg of Avebe potato amylose V stan- following the ranges used for Philippine waxy
dard and each of the milled rice flour samples and nonwaxy rices (Tuaño et al., 2014).
were weighed and 1 mL 95% ethanol was add-
ed to wet the sample. The flasks were carefully Gel Consistency Test for Rices with High
swirled just enough to avoid clumping. Then, 1N Apparent Amylose Content
sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (9 mL) was added to
each mixture, covered, and left to stand for 16 h. Gel consistency (GC) test was based on the
Afterwards, samples were diluted to 100 mL with method of Cagampang et al. (1973) and was
distilled water and mixed well. Working amylose applied for high samples AC only (Juliano,
standard solutions were prepared (i.e. 0, 5, 10, 2007). Triplicate 100-mesh milled rice flour
15, 20, 25, and 30% amylose) from the previ- samples (100 mg) were weighed and trans-
ously prepared Avebe potato amylose standard ferred in 13 x 100 mm culture tubes and wet-
and certain amount of 0.09N NaOH. From these ted with 2 mL 95% ethanol having 0.03% bro-
solutions, aliquots (5 mL) were transferred into mothymol blue and mixed thoroughly using a
another set of 100 mL volumetric flasks. Exactly vortex mixer. Subsequently, 2 mL of 0.2N KOH
1 mL of 0.9N ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) and was added to each tube, mixed using a vortex
approximately 50 mL distilled water, and sam- mixer, and cooked in a boiling water bath for 8
ples were mixed thoroughly. Then, 2 mL iodine min to ensure complete rice starch gelatiniza-
solution (0.15% iodine [I2] in 1.5% potassium io- tion. Afterwards, sample were allowed to cool to
dide [KI]) was added, followed by dilution to 100 room temperature for 5 min and cooled in an ice
mL with distilled water, and mixed thoroughly. bath for another 20 min. The tubes were then
After mixing, absorbance of the colored solu- laid flat horizontally on the laboratory table with
tion was measured at 620 nm using Shimadzu a ruled white cross-section paper and left for 1
UV-1800 (Shimadzu Corp., Japan) within 20 to h undisturbed. GC classification was made after
60 min. For waxy rice samples which yielded scoring the length of the cooled blue gel starting
yellowish-brown solutions after addition of io- from the bottom of the tube up to the gel front.
dine, samples were allowed stand for 2 h and Rice samples were classified as hard GC (28-
absorbance was measured similarly. Standard 40 mm), medium GC (41-60 mm), and soft GC
calibration curves were generated and AC of the (61-100 mm) (Cagampang et al., 1973; Juliano,
2010).

Issue No. 9 73
Ranghino Test for Optimum Cooking Time in Savemore Salitran (Savemore), Waltermart
Determination Supermarket (Waltermart), Robinsons’ Pala-Pa-
la (Robinsons) and SM Dasmariñas were found
In a 250-mL beaker, distilled water (135 mL) was to have no significant differences with each oth-
placed under extreme heat until it vigorously er but were significantly lower than those col-
boiled. Then, 5 g of whole milled rice grains was lected from Puregold Dasmariñas (Puregold)
poured into the beaker. Samples were allowed to (Table 1). Prices per kg of milled rices in all the
cook for 10 min in vigorously boiling water, then, supermarkets surveyed ranged from Php 40.00
10 grains were taken out every after 1 min using to Php 110.00. Puregold had the lowest mean
a plastic spoon. The grains were pressed in be- price per kg while Robinsons had the highest.
tween two glass petri dishes and opaque center The grand mean price per kg for all supermar-
was noted on each grain. Once the pressed, kets in this study was Php 61.04 (Table 1). In
grains showing no opaque uncooked centers terms of mean apparent amylose content (AC),
were considered cooked and noted. Repeated milled rice samples from Savemore, Robin-
pressing and opaque center determination was sons, and SM Dasmariñas had high AC while
continued until such time that 90% of the grains those from Puregold and Waltermart had inter-
tested showed no opaque centers. Final time in mediate AC. Interestingly, the mean AC of rice
min was noted and termed as minimum cooking samples from Waltermart was noted to be the
time (Ranghino, 1966). Optimum cooking time lowest among all the supermarkets surveyed
(OCT) was calculated by adding 2 min to the (Table 1). The mean AC (19.5%) of Waltermart
minimum cooking time. Ranghino test was done samples was significantly lower than the mean
on all milled rice samples in triplicate and results AC of rices from other supermarkets surveyed
were expressed as mean values rounded to the (Table 1). This may be due to high frequency
nearest whole number in minutes. of low-AC and waxy rices in this sample set.
Also, intermediate-AC rices in this supermar-
Statistical Analysis ket were mainly around 20% AC (Supplemen-
tal Table 1). The grand mean AC was found to
All data were subjected to analysis of variance be 21.4% in all supermarkets (Table 1). There
(ANOVA) and post-hoc least significant different were 16 samples having high AC and 6 sam-
(LSD) test at p < 0.05 using the Statistical Tool ples were waxy rices. The grand mean ASV of
for Agricultural Research (STAR) Software Ver- milled rices across all supermarkets was found
sion 2.0.1. Linear correlation coefficients were to be 4.7 ranging from 3.1 to 6.6. GS Supreme
also determined and all data were presented as from Savemore had the lowest mean ASV 3.1
mean ± standard deviation (SD), unless other- while Japanese and Jasmine rices from Robin-
wise specified. sons had the highest mean ASV of 6.6 (Table 1;
Supplemental Table 1). Mean ASV of milled rice
samples collected from Waltermart, Robinsons,
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION and SM Dasmariñas were significantly higher
than the mean ASV of Savemore and Purego-
Physicochemical Properties and Price of ld samples, but their GT types all belonged to
Supermarket Milled Rices in Dasmariñas intermediate GT (Juliano, 2007; Tuaño et al.,
City, Cavite 2014). All 44 samples, regardless of supermar-
ket source, had similar mean optimum cooking
Out of the five (5) supermarkets surveyed along time (OCT) of ~18 min with an overall range of
Emilio Aguinaldo Highway in Dasmariñas City, 17-19 min and grand mean of 18 min. Hard gel
Cavite, mean prices per kg (Php) of milled rices consistency (GC) was prominent in 3 supermar-

74 January - December 2020

kets, namely Savemore, Puregold, and Robin- However, cooking time has not been reported
sons while SM Dasmariñas samples had mainly and samples had lower grand mean price per
medium GC. Surprisingly, no high-AC samples kg (Php 51.95) which ranged from Php 25.00
were present in Waltermart which indicated that to Php 124.50. It also showed that the lowest
Waltermart have softer cooked rices available in priced rice was that of a local variety while im-
open bins as compared to the other supermar- ported rices were priced the highest.
kets surveyed in this study (Table 1).
Supermarket Milled Rices Classified per
Considering nonwaxy milled rice samples alone Apparent Amylose Content Type
(n = 38), prices per kg in all supermarkets sur-
veyed ranged from Php 40 to Php 103 (Table 2). Among the 44 milled rice samples collected,
Robinsons and Puregold had the highest and 21 (48%) were intermediate-AC type, 16 (36%)
lowest mean price per kg, respectively. In terms were high-AC type, and the remaining were
of AC, Waltermart had significantly lower mean classified as low-AC (L) or waxy (W) (Table 3).
AC among all supermarkets surveyed and AC The intermediate-AC samples had an AC range
of Dasmariñas supermarket nonwaxy rices of 17.2-22.0% with an average AC of 20.6%
in this study ranged from 16.7 to 25.1%. Rice whereas the high-AC types had an AC range of
with the lowest AC was found in Waltermart (i.e. 22.2-25.1% with an average AC of 23.4% (Table
Amparo’s Pure Dinurado) while the highest was 2). On the other hand, four waxy rice samples,
from Robinsons (i.e Whole grain empire) (Sup- collected from Savemore, Waltermart, Robin-
plemental Table 1). Generally, the mean AC of sons, and SM Dasmariñas, which were initially
nonwaxy milled rices was intermediate similar analyzed as very low AC, were reclassified as
to the grand mean AC when all samples in this waxy since these samples actually had predom-
study were considered. inantly opaque grains (Figure 1; Table 3; Sup-
plemental Table 1). This initial misclassification
Mean ASV of samples from Waltermart, Rob- may be due to some contaminating nonwaxy
insons, and SM Dasmariñas were significantly grains present in these “malagkit” rice samples
higher than those in Puregold and Savemore, collected which might have caused the relative
but interestingly their GT types were all inter- increase in AC than a typical waxy rice (0-2%)
mediate (Table 2). All nonwaxy rices had mean (Supplemental Table 1). AC obtained for these
optimum cooking time of 18 min with an overall samples were around 2.0-4.0%. From the 21
range of 17-19 min. The same GC types were intermediate-AC rice samples, the range was
observed wherein SM Dasmariñas had mainly 17.2-22.0% with a mean AC of 20.6% and only
medium GC type while Puregold, Savemore, one was found to be low AC (Table 3).
and Robinsons had mainly hard GC type. Over-
all, the gel length of the supermarket rice sam- The most expensive AC type was found to be
ples in this study ranged from 27 mm to 99 mm waxy samples with a mean price of Php 92.83
and a grand mean GC of 35 mm was noted. ranging from Php 69.00 to Php110.00, followed
Waltermart samples were not analyzed for GC by high AC (mean price per kg of Php 59.12 with
since it had no high-AC samples (Table 2; Sup- a range of Php 45.00-70.00), intermediate AC
plemental Table 1). Previous study of Tuaño et (mean price per kg of Php 57.10 with a range
al. (2016) reported a grand mean AC of 20.9% of Php 40.00-103.00), and low-AC (Php 53.00).
and grand mean ASV of 5.4 in nonwaxy rices, High-, intermediate- and low-AC types were
which showed similarity in this study since both found to be the same but were significantly low-
mainly have intermediate-GT type and inter- er than the waxy milled rices in terms of their
mediate-AC type observed in nonwaxy rices. mean prices per kg. ASV of all the samples,

Issue No. 9 75
regardless of AC type, ranged from 3.1 to 6.6 the Philippines. High GT among Philippine waxy
with an overall mean of 4.8 and were not signifi- and low-AC rices reportedly showed actual GT
cantly different. Similarly, optimum cooking time values higher than 74°C as verified by differen-
(OCT) was from 17 min to 19 min (mean OCT tial scanning calorimetry of starch (Tuaño et al.,
of 18 min) for all samples. Only high-AC rices in 2014). Based on the AC per GT type, samples
this study were analyzed for gel consistency. Al- with intermediate and low GT had statistically
though gel length ranged from 27 mm to 99 mm, similar AC values, significantly lower than the
the mean GC was 35 mm indicating that texture mean AC of high-GT rices (Table 4). Optimum
was generally hard upon gel cooling. cooking time (OCT) was observed to have no
significant difference among all GT types. Inter-
Tuaño et al. (2016) reported that intermedi- estingly, this was in contrast with the previous
ate-AC was the most abundant AC type in re- study of Cuevas et al. (2010) which reported
tail stores and supermarkets in the Philippines. that GT is associated with the cooking time of
The set in this study had a mean AC of 21.4% rice. This needs further verification maybe by
(n = 44) similar to the mean AC of 20.9% (n = separating the samples in this previous report
388) reported by Tuaño et al. (2016). GT type of into different amylose classes. In terms of mean
milled rices in Dasmariñas City was intermedi- price per kg, rices with intermediate-high GT
ate with mean ASV of 4.8 similar to the results and those with intermediate GT were not signifi-
of Tuaño et al. (2016). A survey of Philippine cantly different. However, low-GT rices tended
farmers’ specialty rices in Tuaño et al. (2015) to be more expensive possibly due to the high
showed that 51% had intermediate AC, 37% price of Japanese rice, with a mean price per kg
had low AC, and 12% had high AC. This may be of Php 103.00 that might have caused the in-
due to the change in the Philippine rice breeding crease in mean price of low-GT samples in this
objective from high-AC types in the 1980’s to in- study (Supplemental Table 1).
termediate-AC with some low-AC rice varieties
in the year 2000 onwards (Juliano et al., 1989; Apparent Amylose Content-Gel Temperature
Mangaoang et al., 2002; Juliano, 2010; Juliano, Combinations of Supermarket Rices
2019).
Philippine rices are commonly differentiated
Supermarket Milled Rices Classified per based on apparent amylose content-gelati-
Gelatinization Temperature Type nization temperature (AC-GT) combinations
(Roferos et al., 2006; Juliano, 2010). Cluster 1
Alkali spreading test showed that of the open- which corresponds to soft cooked rice is com-
bin nonwaxy milled rice samples, 32 (80%) had prised of rices with intermediate AC-intermedi-
intermediate GT, 5 (18%) had low GT and only 1 ate GT (I-I) and low AC-low GT (L-L) combina-
had intermediate-high GT (Table 4). Waxy rices tions. Cluster 2, which yields medium-textured
had either low or intermediate-high GT (Supple- cooked rice, is comprised of rices with high
mental Table 1). Intermediate-GT types had a AC-intermediate-high GT (H-I), high AC-inter-
lower limit ASV of 3.6 with an upper limit of 5.4 mediate GT (H-IH), and intermediate AC-low GT
and an average ASV of 4.5. Low-GT types had (I-L) combinations. Lastly, clusters 3 and 4, are
a mean ASV of 6.0 that varied from 5.6 to 6.6. mainly used to denote hard textured cooked rice
Generally, the grand mean ASV was 4.5 which types having high AC-low GT combination (H-L)
corresponded to intermediate-GT type similar to with varying GC (Roferos et al., 2006).
the study of Tuaño et al. (2016) which reported
a grand mean ASV of 5.4 for samples collected Out of 44 open-bin milled rice samples, 18 were
from selected retail stores and supermarkets in classified as I-I, 13 were H-I, and the remaining

76 January - December 2020

samples were either H-IH, H-L, I-L, L-H or waxy rices were both done in this study and the pre-
with either high or low GT (W-H or W-L, respec- vious report of Tuaño et al. (2014). This reclas-
tively) (Table 5). Mean price per kg for H-IH, I-I, sification of Philippine rice under the said AC
and L-H samples were significantly lower than types was verified via analysis of actual GT by
those W-L, W-H, and I-L samples while high-AC differential scanning calorimetry of rice starch.
rices, regardless of GT combined with it, had no Thus, similar to previous reports, low-AC and
significant difference in price. All AC-GT combi- waxy rices in this study having ASV 4-5 should
nations with high AC classifications and those be classified as high GT and not intermediate
in waxy rices were not significantly different in GT (Tuaño et al., 2014).
mean price per kg. On the other hand, mean
price of I-I and that of I-L rices were significantly Supermarket Milled Rices with High
different. Amylose Classified per Gel Consistency
Type
Interestingly, I-I had a significantly higher mean
AC over I-L which was in contrast with the The high-AC samples (16 out of 44) in this
above trends. This might be due to the mean study were subjected to gel consistency test
AC of I-I that ranged from 19% to 22% unlike in and majority were classified as hard GC (Ta-
I-L which had an AC range of 17-19% (Table 5; ble 6). The prolonged storage after milling may
Supplemental Table1). This indicates that milled have affected GC (Roferos et al., 2006; Juliano,
rices with intermediate AC and low GT tend to 2010). However, grand mean GC was medium
have relatively lower amounts of amylose in the (58 mm) probably due to two samples with vary-
grain as compared to those with intermediate ing GC from medium to soft. Also, mean GC of
GT confirming the previous report among inter- hard gel samples was close to 40 mm. Thus,
mediate-AC Philippine indica modern varieties there might be high chances that values of soft-
in Tuaño et al. (2011). Mean ASV for H-L, I-L, GC and medium-GC samples led to an overall
and W-L were the same but significantly lower medium GC type for this sample set. Similarly,
than the mean ASV for H-I and I-I. On the other the reported mean GC was also medium (53
hand, H-IH had the lowest mean ASV among mm) for the nonwaxy Philippine milled rices in
all AC-GT combinations observed in this study. local retail stores and supermarkets (n = 148)
Optimum cooking time (OCT) was the same as reported by Tuaño et al. (2016). Prices of all
for all the following AC-GT combinations: H-IH, high-AC milled rices varying in GC analyzed in
H-L, L-H, W-H, and W-L. However, the I-L com- this study did not show a consistent trend. Inter-
bination tended to have the lowest mean OCT of estingly, the only medium GC rice was priced
17.7 min (Table 5). the highest. The price per kg, ASV, and optimum
cooking time were not significantly different for
These results on the distribution of the collect- all the high AC rice samples. They were all in-
ed Dasmariñas supermarket samples into the termediate-GT (Table 6). Studies have shown
different AC-GT combinations were similar to that high AC-low GT were classified as hard
the reports of Tuaño et al. (2015) and Tuaño et GC type and high AC-intermediate GT would
al. (2016) where the major AC-GT combination fall under medium GC type. This may due to the
was found to be I-I corresponding to cluster 1 differences in the amount of long chain amylo-
with soft cooked rice texture according to the pectin (LCA) (Fredriksson et al., 1998; Aoki et
proposed Philippine grain quality classification al., 2006; Tuaño et al., 2011) in these samples
Roferos et al., 2006; Juliano, 2010; Tuaño et al., and this needs verification among Philippine
2015). In addition, reclassification of intermedi- market milled rice samples. It has been report-
ate GT into high GT among low-AC and waxy ed that high-AC low-GT milled rices would yield

Issue No. 9 77
the hardest GC as affected by the usually high Waxy samples, on the other hand, were more
amount (>10%) of LCA with >1000 glucose expensive than nonwaxy samples in this study
units long (Takeda et al., 1987; Han and Ha- and had higher mean ASV than the other AC
maker, 2001; Juliano, 2007; Tuaño et al., 2014). types, across all price ranges. The waxy rices
However, interestingly, this particular study re- with the highest price per kg range also had the
ported that high AC-intermediate GT samples mean OCT as compared to the rest (Table 7).
had hard GC and only two high AC-low GT ones
(i.e. Jasmine and Cherry Rose) had hard GC Correlations among Physicochemical
(Supplemental Table 1). It would be promising to Properties and Price of Supermarket Rices
determine the LCA amounts in these high AC-in-
termediate GT supermarket rices having hard Results have shown that among all the collect-
GC relative to cooked rice texture. In addition, ed supermarket milled rice samples (n = 44) in
these observations may also be due to several Dasmariñas City, Cavite, price and AC were
factors affecting GC and texture of milled rice significantly negatively correlated (Table 8).
such as protein content and room temperature However, no significant correlation among non-
storage conditions (Roferos et al., 2006; Cam- waxy samples (n = 38) and high-AC samples
eron et al., 2005). was noted in contrast to optimum cooking time
having a significant negative correlation with
Supermarket Milled Rices Clustered per price among nonwaxy rices. Optimum cooking
Usual Price Range and their Properties time and price had no significant relationship
when all samples and high-AC samples were
The collected rice samples were classified ac- considered. Price and ASV were significantly
cording to the usual price range that most con- positively correlated but did not reach statistical
sumers would select from, in multiples of Php significance among high-AC samples alone. AC
5.00. Majority of supermarket samples in Das- correlated positively and significantly with OCT
mariñas City, Cavite ranged from Php 50 to Php among nonwaxy samples only but showed no
55 per kg (Table 7). The highest price range correlation with ASV among all groups analyzed
(Php 90–110) rice was mainly composed of 3 (Table 8). Negative correlation between ASV
waxy and 1 intermediate-AC rices (i.e. Japa- and OCT was significant in both groups of non-
nese rice from Robinsons). This could be due to waxy samples and all samples in this study. GC
an imported rice sample that was sold in open- showed no correlation with the other parame-
bins of the said supermarket. As shown by Tu- ters analyzed. Tuaño et al. (2016) also showed
año et al. (2016), Japanese rice commonly had significantly negative correlation between AC
a price range per of Php 80 to Php 118.50 per and price while the latter price was positively
kg in Philippine urban supermarkets. Waxy rices and significantly correlated with ASV similar to
had a price range of Php 76-110 with mean price the findings of the present study.
of Php 96 per kg. Intermediate-AC types, on the
other hand, were found to be the least expen-
sive among all samples (Table 7; Supplemental CONCLUSION AND
Table 1). Also, most of the milled rice samples RECOMMENDATIONS
in Dasmariñas supermarkets under Php 50-55
per kg are classified as intermediate AC. This This study analyzed 44 milled rice samples col-
suggests that the typical open-bin supermarket lected from open-bins of five selected supermar-
milled rices most Filipino consumers in the city kets in Dasmariñas City, Cavite in terms of AC,
buy within this price range have intermediate GT as indexed by ASV, GC, and OCT. Majority
AC which yield soft-to-medium cooked texture. of Dasmariñas supermarket milled rices were

78 January - December 2020

intermediate AC, followed by high-AC. GT type ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
of the supermarket rice samples was mainly in-
termediate. The main AC-GT combination was The authors gratefully acknowledge Antonieta
intermediate AC-intermediate-GT correspond- D. Peñaloza and Wilson E. Rivano of the Rice
ing to cluster 1 which yields soft cooked rice tex- Chemistry and Quality Laboratory (RCQL), Phil-
ture. Optimum cooking time of the samples was ippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) Los
around 18 min and mostly comparable across Baños for providing technical assistance. APPT
supermarkets and AC types. GC of high AC-in- was the former laboratory head of RCQL and a
termediate GT rices was mainly hard similar to former Supervising Science Research Specialist
typical high AC-low GT rices commonly having at PhilRice Los Baños (2008-2016) spearhead-
hard GC as indicated by the short length (i.e. ing the conceptualization and implementation
≤40 mm) of the cooked gel upon cooling. Price of the Philippine market rice grain quality sur-
per kg was significantly negatively correlated vey project collaboratively conducted in various
with AC and OCT similar to the correlation not- regions of the country. This research article is
ed between OCT and ASV among all rice sam- dedicated to the late Dr. Bienvenido O. Juliano,
ples analyzed in this study. In contrast, results world-renowned cereal chemist and National
showed that only price and ASV had a signifi- Scientist, who pioneered the work on the chem-
cant positive correlation among all the samples istry and grain quality of Philippine rice and of
evaluated for grain quality in this study. Further world rices. His mentoring and technical advice
grain quality studies using larger and more di- during the conduct of this study are gratefully
verse set of supermarket samples across many acknowledged. APPT, KTML, and CJMV would
regions of the country would strengthen the cor- also like to thank the Chemistry Laboratory of
relations reported in the present work. To eluci- the College of Humanities and Sciences, De La
date holistically the cooking and eating quality Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute, for
of supermarket milled rices in the Philippines, allowing the use of some laboratory facilities and
other grain quality parameters may be also be reagents. The technical assistance of Guiller L.
explored and analyzed. Sensory evaluation Sarmenta and Dalton R. Fortin in the conduct
methods may also be employed. However, they of this study is hereby thankfully acknowledged.
are expensive, time-consuming, and requires
higher sample amount.

Issue No. 9 79
80
Table 1. Summary of range and mean of prices and physicochemical properties of milled rice samples (n = 44) collected from selected su-
permarkets in Dasmariñas City, Cavite in July-August 2017.

Optimum CTe Gel Length

Price per kg (Php) ACa(%) AC ASVc GT GC
Supermarket n (min) (mm)
Typeb Typed Typef
Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean
Savemore Salitan 10 49.00 - 89.00 60.60 a 4.0-23.7 22.1 a H 3.1 - 4.5 3.9 b I 18 - 19 18 a 28 - 42 33 H
Puregold Dasmariñas 4 40.00 - 69.00 50.25 b 2.0-22.5 21.2 a I 4.1 - 4.2 4.2. b I 18 - 19 18 a 32 32 H
Waltermart 8 45.00 - 110.00 66.28 a 2.1-21.6 19.5 b I 4.0 - 5.8 4.9 a I 18 - 19 18 a - - -
Supermarket
Robinson’s Pala-Pala 12 55.00 - 103.00 67.48 a 2.0-25.1 22.1 a H 4.4 - 6.6 5.3 a I 17 - 18 18 a 29 - 40 32 H
SM Dasmariñas 10 49.00 - 89.00 60.60 a 3.0-24.1 22.2 a H 4.1 - 5.6 5.0 a I 18 - 19 18 a 27 - 99 44 M
Total/Grand Mean 44 40.00 - 110.00 61.04 2.0-25.1 21.4 I 3.1 - 6.6 4.7 I 17 - 19 18 27 - 99 35 H
Means in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p < 0.05 using Least Significance Difference (LSD) test
a
AC- apparent amylose content.
b
AC Types: H (High) - > 22.0; I (Intermediate) - 17.1 - 22.0; L (Low) - 10.1; 17.0; VL (Very Low) - 2.1 - 10.0; W (Waxy) - < 2.0.
c
ASV - alkali spreading value.
d
GT - gelatinization temperature; GT Types: High (H) - ASV 1 - 2; Intermediate High (IH) - ASV 3; Intermediate (I) - ASV 4 - 5; Low (L) - ASV 6 - 7.
e
CT - cooking time.
f
GC - gel consistency; GC Types: Hard (H) - 28 - 40; Medium (M) - 41 - 60; Soft (S) - 61 – 100.

January - December 2020

Issue No. 9
Table 2. Summary of range and mean of prices and physicochemical properties of nonwaxy milled rice samples (n = 38) collected from
selected supermarkets in Dasmariñas City, Cavite in July-August 2017.

Price per kg (Php) ACa (%) AC ASVc GT Optimum CTe Gel length (mm) GC
Supermarket n
Range Mean Range Mean Typeb Range Mean Typed Range Mean Range Mean Typef

Savemore Salitan 9 49.00 - 70.00 57.44 b 20.1 - 23.7 22.1 a H 3.1 - 45 3.9 b I 18 - 19 18 a 28 - 42 32 a H
Puregold Dasmariñas 3 40.00 - 47.00 44.0 c 19.5 - 22.5 21.2 a I 4.1 - 4.2 4.2 b I 18 - 19 18 a 32 32 a H
Waltermart 6 45.00 - 66.25 53.38 b 16.7 - 21.6 19.5 b I 4.3 - 5.8 4.9 a I 18 - 19 18 a - - -
Supermarket
Robinson’s Pala-Pala 11 55.00 - 103.00 64.52 a 17.2 - 25.1 22.1 a H 4.4 - 6.6 5.2 a I 17 - 18 18 a 29 - 40 32 a H
SM Dasmariñas 9 49.00 - 7 0.00 57.44 b 19.4 - 24.1 22.2 a H 4.1 - 5.6 4.9 a I 18 - 19 18 a 27 - 99 44 a M
Total/Grand Mean 38 40.00 - 103.00 55.36 16.7 - 25.1 21.4 I 3.1 - 6.6 4.6 I 17 - 19 18 27 - 99 35 H
Means in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p < 0.05 using Least Significance Difference (LSD) test
a
AC- apparent amylose content.
b
AC Types: H (High) - > 22.0; I (Intermediate) - 17.1 - 22.0; L (Low) - 10.1; 17.0; VL (Very Low) - 2.1 - 10.0; W (Waxy) - < 2.0.
c
ASV - alkali spreading value.
d
GT - gelatinization temperature; GT Types: High (H) - ASV 1 - 2; Intermediate High (IH) - ASV 3; Intermediate (I) - ASV 4 - 5; Low (L) - ASV 6 - 7.
e
CT - cooking time.
f
GC - gel consistency; GC Types: Hard (H) - 28 - 40; Medium (M) - 41 - 60; Soft (S) - 61 – 100.

81
82
Table 3. Comparison of range and mean prices and physicochemical properties of milled rices with different apparent amylose content
(AC) collected from selected supermarkets in Dasmariñas City, Cavite in July-August 2017.

Price per kg (Php) AC (%) ASVb GT Optimum CTd (min) Gel length (mm) GC
AC Typea n
Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Typec Range Mean Range Mean Typee

High 16 45.00 - 70.00 59.12 b 22.2 - 25.1 23.4 a 3.1 - 6.6 4.6 a I 18 - 19 18.0 a 27-99 36 H
Intermediate 21 40.00 - 103.00 57.10 b 17.2 - 22.0 20.6 b 3.7 - 6.6 4.8 a I 17 -1 9 18.0 a - - -
Low 1 53.00 53.00 b 16.7 16.7 c 4.8 4.8 a I 18 18.0 a - - -
Waxy 6 69.00 - 110.00 92.83 a 2.0 - 4.0 2.5 d 3.9 - 6.0 4.9 a I 18 - 19 18.0 a - - -
Means in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p < 0.05 using Least Significance Difference (LSD) test
a
AC – apparent amylose content; AC Types: High - > 22.0; Intermediate – 17.1 – 22.0; Low – 10.1 – 17.0; Very Low – 2.1 – 10.0; Waxy - < 2.0.
b
ASV - alkali spreading value.
c
GT - gelatinization temperature; GT Types: High (H) - ASV 1 - 2; Intermediate High (IH) - ASV 3; Intermediate (I) - ASV 4 - 5; Low (L) - ASV 6 - 7.
d
CT - cooking time.
e
GC - gel consistency; GC Types: Hard (H) - 28 - 40; Medium (M) - 41 - 60; Soft (S) - 61 – 100.
f
VL was reclassified to W due to nature/appearance of actual samples – opaque waxy grains. W was used to denote them in the manuscript unless otherwise specified.

January - December 2020

Issue No. 9
Table 4. Comparison of range and mean prices and physicochemical properties of milled rices with different gelatinization temperature
(GT) types collected from selected supermarkets in Dasmariñas City, Cavite in July-August 2017.

Price per kg (Php) ASVb ACc (%) Optimum CTe (min) Gel Length (mm)
GT Typea n AC Type GC Typef
Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean
IH 1 50.00 50.00 b 3.1 3.1 c 23.5 23.5 a H 18 18.0 a 28 28 a H
I 32 40.00 - 70.00 56.41 b 3.6 - 5.4 4.5 b 16.7 - 25.1 21.8 ab I 18-19 18.2 a 27 - 99 37 a H
L 5 49.00 - 103.00 68.20 a 5.6 - 6.6 6.0 a 17.2 - 24.1 20.0 b I 17-18 17.9 a 30 - 40 35 a H
Means in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p < 0.05 using Least Significance Difference (LSD) test
a
GT - gelatinization temperature; GT Types: High (H) - ASV 1 - 2; Intermediate High (IH) - ASV 3; Intermediate (I) - ASV 4 - 5; Low (L) - ASV 6 - 7.
b
ASV - alkali spreading value.
c
AC – apparent amylose content.
d
AC Types: H (High) - > 22.0; I (Intermediate) – 17.1 – 22.0; L (Low) – 10.1 – 17.0; VL (Very Low) – 2.1 – 10.0; W (Waxy) - < 2.0.
e
CT - cooking time.
f
GC - gel consistency; GC Types: Hard (H) - 28 - 40; Medium (M) - 41 - 60; Soft (S) - 61 – 100.

83
84
Table 5. Comparison of range and mean prices and physicochemical properties of milled rices with different apparent amylose content
(AC)- gelatinization temperature (GT) combinations collected from selected supermarkets in Dasmariñas City, Cavite in July-August 2017.

AC-GT Price per kg (Php) ACb (%) AC ASVd GT Optimum CTf (min) Gel Length (mm) GC
n
Combinationa Typec Typee Typeg
Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean
H-IH 1 50.00 50.00 d 23.5 23.5 a H 3.1 3.1 d IH 18 18.0 ab 28 28 a H
H-I 13 45.00-70.00 59.15 cd 22.3-25.1 23.4 a H 3.6-5.3 4.5 bc I 18-19 18.2 a 27-99 37 a H
H-L 2 55.00-67.75 61.38 cd 22.2-24.1 23.2 a H 5.7-6.6 6.3 a L 18 18.0 ab 30-40 37 a H
I-I 18 40.00-69.00 54.61 d 19.5-22.0 21.0 b I 5.1-3.7 4.6 bc I 18-19 18.2 a - 35 a -
I-L 3 49.00-103.00 72.75 bc 17.2-19.4 18.0 c I 5.6-6.6 6.0 a L 17-18 17.7 b - - -
L-H 1 53.00 53.00 d 16.7 16,7 c L 4.8 4.8 b I 18 18.0 ab - - -
W-H 3 69.00-100.00 86.00 ab 2.0-4.0 2.7 d Wh 3.9-4.2 4.0 c I 18-19 18.1 ab - - -
W-L 3 89.00-110.00 99.67 a 2.0-3.0 2.4 d Wh 5.6-6.0 5.8 a L 18 18.0 ab - - -
Means in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p < 0.05 using Least Significance (LSD) test.
a
AC types (first letter): H – high; I – intermediate; L – low; W – waxy; GT types (second letter): IH – intermediate-high; I – intermediate; L – low.
b
AC – apparent amylose content.
c
AC Types: High - > 22.0; I (Intermediate) – 17.1 – 22.0; L (Low) – 10.1 – 17.0; VL (Very Low) – 2.1 – 10.0; W (Waxy) - < 2.0.
d
ASV - alkali spreading value.
e
GT - gelatinization temperature; GT Types: High (H) - ASV 1 - 2; Intermediate High (IH) - ASV 3; Intermediate (I) - ASV 4 - 5; Low (L) - ASV 6 - 7.
f
CT - cooking time.
g
GC - gel consistency; GC Types: Hard (H) - 28 - 40; Medium (M) - 41 - 60; Soft (S) - 61 – 100.
f
VL was reclassified to W due to nature/appearance of actual samples – opaque waxy grains. W was used to denote them in the manuscript unless otherwise specified.

January - December 2020

Issue No. 9
Table 6. Comparison of range and mean prices and physicochemical properties of milled rices with high apparent amylose content (AC)
and varying gel consistency (GC) collected from selected supermarkets in Dasmariñas City, Cavite in July-August 2017.

Price per kg (Php) Gel Length (mm) ACb (%) ASVd Optimum CTf (min)
GC Typea n AC Typec GT Typee
Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean
Hard 14 45.00 - 70.00 58.70 b 27 - 40 31 c 22.2 - 25.1 23.3 a H 3.1 - 6.6 4.7 a I 18 - 19 18.0 a
Medium 1 70.00 70.00 a 42 42 b 23.6 23.6 a H 3.8 3.8 a I 19 19.0 a
Soft 1 50.00 50.00 b 99 99 a 23.1 23.1 a H 5.2 5.2 a I 18 18.0 a
Means in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p < 0.05 using Least Significance (LSD) test.
a GC Types: Hard (H) - 28 - 40; Medium (M) - 41 - 60; Soft (S) - 61 – 100.
b AC – apparent amylose content.
c AC Types: H (High) - > 22.0; I (Intermediate) – 17.1 – 22.0; L (Low) – 10.1 – 17.0; VL (Very Low) – 2.1 – 10.0; W (Waxy) - < 2.0.
d ASV - alkali spreading value.
e GT - gelatinization temperature; GT Types: High (H) - ASV 1 - 2; Intermediate High (IH) - ASV 3; Intermediate (I) - ASV 4 - 5; Low (L) - ASV 6 - 7.
f CT - cooking time.

85
86
Table 7. Comparison of mean prices, range and mean physicochemical properties of milled rices varying in market price range collected
from selected supermarkets in Dasmariñas City, Cavite in July-August 2017.

Mean ACa (%) ASVc Optimum Cte Gel Length (mm)

Price n Price AC Typeb GT Typed GC Typef
Range Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean Range Mean
(Php)
40-45 3 43.33 20.5 - 22.5 21.5 abc I 4.2 - 4.2 4.2 b I 18 - 19 18.2 a 32 32 H
46-49 4 48.25 19.4 - 20.6 20.0 bc I 4.1 - 5.6 4.7 b I 18 18.2 a - - -
50-55 14 53.07 24.1 - 16.7 21.8 ab I 3.1 - 5.7 4.7 b I 18 - 19 18.4 a 28 - 99 40 H
56-59 4 58.75 21.6 - 22.4 21.9 ab I 4.2 - 5.1 4.7 b I 18 - 19 18.0 a 33 33 H
60-65 5 63.40 20.0 - 25.1 22.2 ab H 4.2 - 5.3 4.8 b I 18 18.0 a 30 - 34 32 H
66-69 6 67.33 2.0 - 23.7 18.3 c I 3.6 - 6.6 4.9 b I 18 - 19 18.1 a 28 - 40 34 H
70-75 2 70.00 23.6 - 23.9 23.7 a H 3.8 - 4.9 4.3 b I 18 - 19 18.0 a 27 - 42 35 H
76-89 2 89.00 3.0 - 4.0 3.5 d Wg 3.9 - 5.6 4.8 b I 18 18.3 a - - -
90-110 4 103.25 2.0 - 17.2 5.8 d Wg 4.0 - 6.6 5.6 a L 17 - 19 18.7 a - - -
Means in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p<0.05 using Least Significance Difference (LSD) test
a
AC – apparent amylose content.
b
AC Types: H (High) - > 22.0; I (Intermediate) – 17.1 – 22.0; L (Low) – 10.1 – 17.0; VL (Very Low) – 2.1 – 10.0; W (Waxy) - < 2.0.
c
ASV - alkali spreading value.
d
GT - gelatinization temperature; GT Types: High (H) - ASV 1 - 2; Intermediate High (IH) - ASV 3; Intermediate (I) - ASV 4 - 5; Low (L) - ASV 6 - 7.
e
CT - cooking time.
f
GC - gel consistency; GC Types: Hard (H) - 28 - 40; Medium (M) - 41 - 60; Soft (S) - 61 – 100.
g
VL was reclassified to W due to nature/appearance of actual samples – opaque waxy grains. W was used to denote them in the manuscript unless otherwise specified.

January - December 2020

Table 8. Correlation coefficients among physicochemical properties of milled rice samples collected
from selected supermarkets in Dasmariñas City, Cavite in July-August 2017.

Milled rice samples

Parameters
All samples (n=44) Nonwaxy samples (n=38) High-ACa samples (n=16)
Price vs ACa - 0.730* - 0.107 ns 0.113 ns
Price vs ASVb 0.367 .416 * 0.148 ns
Price vs optimum CTc - 0.229 nns - 0.356 ** 0.172 ns
Price vs GCd n/a n/a - 0.210 ns
ACa vs ASVb - 0.167 ns - 0.280 ns - 0.034 ns
ACa vs optimum CTc 0.148 ns 0.346 ** 0.084 ns
AC vs GC
a d
n/a n/a - 0.151 ns
ASVb vs optimum CTc - 0.380 ** - 0.414 * - 0.339 ns
ASVb vs GCd n/a n/a 0.208 ns
Optimum CTc vs GCd n/a n/a - 0.129 ns
* - significant correlation at 1% level.
** - significant correlation at 5% level.
ns - not significant.
n/a - not applicable.
a
AC - apparent amylose content.
b
ASV - alkali spreading value.
c
CT - cooking time.
d
GC - gel consistency.

Issue No. 9 87
 Supplemental Table 1. Summary of price and physicochemical properties of milled rices (n = 44) collected from various supermarkets in

88
Dasmariñas City, Cavite in July-August 2017. ‘

Gel
Price per ACa of Milled AC Optimum CTg
Supermarket/Sample ASVc GT Typed AC-GT Typee Length GC Typef
kg (Php) Rice (%) Typeb (min)
(mm)
Savemore Salitran (10)
California (Whole Grain) 59.00 22.4 ± 0.19 H 4.2 I H-I 33 ± 1.15 HARD 19 ± 1.15
Denurado Special Mabango) 63.00 22.3 ± 0.91 H 4.2 I H-I 34 ± 1.53 HARD 18 ± 0.58
Jasmine (Mabango) 70.00 23.6 ± 0.83 H 3.8 I H-I 42 ± 2.52 MEDIUM 19 ± 0.58
GS Supreme 50.00 23.5 ± 0.96 H 3.1 IH H-IH 28 ± 0.58 HARD 18 ± 0.00
h i i
Malagkit Premium 89.00 4.0 ± 0.30 VL 3.9 I VL-H - - 18 ± 0.58
Milarosa (Whole Grain) 66.00 23.7 ± 0.57 H 3.6 I H-I 28 ± 1.73 HARD 19 ± 0.58
Platinum (Sinandomeng) 53.00 20.5 ± 0.18 I 3.7 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Noble Star (Sinandomeng) 55.00 20.1 ± 0.47 I 4.1 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Passion (Maalsa) 52.00 22.0 ± 0.65 I 4.3 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Commodore (Maalsa) 49.00 20.4 ± 1.24 I 4.5 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.58
Puregold Dasmariñas (4)
Equal Dinurado Rice 47.00 19.5 ± 1.00 I 4.1 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Equal Sinandomeng Rice 40.00 21.7 ± 0.93 I 4.2 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Equal Long Grain Rice 45.00 22.5 ± 0.61 H 4.2 I H-I 32 ± 1.53 HARD 19 ± 0.58
Malagkit 69.00 2.0 ± 0.09 W 4.2 Ii W-Hi - - 18 ± 0.00
Waltermart Supermarket (8)
Amparo’s Sinandomeng 48.00 20.6 ± 0.80 I 4.6 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Amparo’s Pure Dinurado 53.00 16.7 ± 0.34 L 4.8 Ii L-H - - 18 ± 0.00
Amparo’s C4 Dinurado 50.00 20.3 ± 0.73 I 5.4 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Amparo’s Malagkit Bilog 110.00 2.1 ± 0.17 VLh 5.9 L VL-L - - 18 ± 0.00
Amparo’s Malagkit Haba 100.00 2.1 ± 0.14 VLhI 4.0 Ii VL-H - - 19 ± 0.58
Amparo’s Regular Mill 45.00 20.5 ± 1.14 I 4.3 I I-I - - 19 ± 0.58
Amparo’s Maharlika 58.00 21.6 ± 1.20 I 4.8 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Amparo’s Thai Jasmine 66.25 17.3 ± 0.16 I 5.8 L I-L - - 18 ± 0.00

January - December 2020

 Robinson’s Pala-Pala (12)
Sagada Rice (Dinurado) 55.00 21.4 ± 0.27 I 4.8 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00

Issue No. 9
Malakit White Rice 100.00 2.0 ± 0.04 W 6.0 L W-L - - 18 ± 0.00
Snow White Rice 55.00 22.9 ± 0.61 H 4.9 I H-I 31 ± 0.58 HARD 18 ± 0.00
Jasmine Rice 67.75 22.2 ± 0.96 H 6.6 L H-L 40 ± 0.58 HARD 18 ± 0.00
Magic Star Whole Grain 59.00 21.8 ± 0.25 I 4.8 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Japanese Rice 103.00 17.2 ± 0.39 I 6.6 L I-L - - 17 ± 0.00
Whole Grain Empire 62.00 25.1 ± 0.95 H 5.3 I H-I 30 ± 1.15 HARD 18 ± 0.58
Cherry Rose Rice (Sinandomeng) 55.00 24.1 ± 0.08 H 5.7 L H-L 30 ± 0.00 HARD 18 ± 0.00
C - 18 Rice 55.00 23.2 ± 0.63 H 4.7 I H-I 29 ± 1.00 HARD 18 ± 0.00
Dinurado Kukuyo 64.00 22.0 ± 0.62 I 4.8 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.58
Global Fresh Isabela 69.00 21.1 ± 0.31 I 4.4 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Best Seller Rice 65.00 21.7 ± 0.28 I 4.5 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.58
SM Dasmariñas (10)
Noble Star (Sinandomeng) 55.00 23.3 ± 0.39 H 5.1 I H-I 29 ± 1.00 HARD 18 ± 0.00
GS Supreme (Regular) 50.00 23.1 ± 0.92 H 5.2 I H-I 99 ± 1.73 SOFT 18 ± 0.00
Denurado Special (Mabango) 63.00 20.0 ± 0.95 I 5.1 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.00
Commodore (Maalsa) 49.00 19.4 ± 0.33 I 5.6 L I-L - - 18 ± 0.00
Jasmine (Mabango) 70.00 23.9 ± 0.86 H 4.9 I H-I 27 ± 0.58 HARD 18 ± 0.58
Passion (Maalsa) 52.00 20.3 ± 1.09 I 4.9 I I-I - - 19 ± 0.58
Milagrosa (Whole Grain) 66.00 23.5 ± 0.50 H 4.7 I H-I 33 ± 2.31 HARD 18 ± 0.00
California (Whole Grain) 59.00 21.8 ± 0.51 I 5.1 I I-I - - 18 ± 0.58
Malagkit Premium (Malagkit) 89.00 3.0 ± 0.05 VLh 5.6 L VL-L - - 18 ± 0.00
Platinum (Sinandomeng) (Mabango) 53.00 24.1 ± 1.00 H 4.1 I H-I 33 ± 2.08 HARD 18 ± 0.00
Means in the same column followed by the same letter are significantly different at p < 0.05 using Least Significance Difference (LSD) test.
a
AC - apparent amylose content.
b
AC Types - H (High) -> 22.0; I (Intermediate) - 17.1 - 22.0; L (Low) - 10.1 - 17.0; VL (Very low) - 2.1 - 10.0; W (Waxy) -< 2.0.
c
ASV - alkali spreading value.
d
GT - gelatinization temperature; GT Types: High (H) - ASV 1 - 2; Intermediate (IH) - ASV 3; Intermediate (I) - ASV 4 - 5; Low (L) - ASV 6 - 7.
e
AC Types (first letter): H - high; I - intermediate; L - low; W - waxy; GT types (second letter): IH - intermediate high; I - intermediate; L - low.
f
GC - gel consistency; GC Types: Hard (H) - 28 - 40; Medium (M) - 41 - 60; Soft (S) - 61 - 100.
g
GT - cooking time
h
VL was reclassified to W due to nature/appearance of actual samples - opaque waxy grains. W was used to denote them in the manuscript unless otherwise specified.

89
i
I GT of low and waxy rices was reclassified to H GT in AC-GT combination to correspondwith differential scanning colorimetry (DSC).
Figure 1. Milled waxy rice samples from (A) Savemore, (B) Waltermart, (B) Robinsons, and (D) SM
Dasmariñas, initially analyzed to be very low apparent amylose content (AC)-types but reclassified
as waxy rices.

90 January - December 2020

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(1987). Structure of rice amylopectin
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92 January - December 2020

Producers’ Cooperative in Agro-eco-tourism Development:
The Case of the Guimaras Mango Growers and Producers
Development Cooperative (GMGPDC) in Guimaras,
Philippines
Noe John Joseph E. Sacramento a *, Dhino B. Geges b
a
College of Social Sciences, University of the Philippines Cebu, Cebu City / School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University,
Chiang Mai, Thailand
b
Department of Social Development Services, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Producers’ cooperative, with the local government unit (LGU), civil society organizations (CSOs),
and community groups play a critical role in local economic development. This case study identi-
fies Guimaras Mango Growers and Producers Development Cooperative’s (GMGPDC) roles in the
agro-eco-tourism development of a mango farming industry in the Philippines. The study used key
informant interviews, and group discussions with cooperative members, officers, and local govern-
ment officials to elicit the roles of GMGPDC in agro-eco-tourism development. The study explains
cooperative initiatives towards mango farming, and agro-eco-tourism development that are vital to
the local economy. It also highlights cooperative empowerment, inclusiveness, and collaboration as
values forged within the multi-stakeholder dynamics central to attaining agro-eco-tourism develop-
ment. At the same time, it also captures internal, and external challenges concerning the cooperative
that needs substantive attention. This study emphasizes the essentiality of organizing cooperatives
to represent a more people-oriented organization; thus, addressing concerns over elites overtaking
local industries, and agro-eco-tourism development. Expanding the collaboration with LGU, CSOs,
and community groups is crucial to forging inclusive, and empowering steps and actions central to
the mission. Lastly, the study provides recommendations to the GMGPDC, LGU, CSOs, and commu-
nity groups that can help further address agro-eco-tourism development challenges.

Keywords: agro-eco-tourism, collaboration, development, empowerment, inclusiveness, mango

farming, producers’ cooperative

INTRODUCTION in the East Asia Pacific region, the decline in

poverty rate to 16.6 percent in 2018 from 23.3
In Southeast Asia, rural communities consider percent recorded in 2015 (World Bank, 2021) can
agriculture vital to statehood and nation’s life. be attributed to the impact of agriculture. Forty
As a tropical country situated in the region, the percent of Filipino workers in the agricultural
Philippines has relied heavily on agricultural industry devote their time to crop cultivation,
produce to satisfy its economic needs (Heritage contributing to an average of 20 percent of the
Foundation, 2020). Considering that the country Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (CIDA-LGSP,
is one of the developing and dynamic economies 2003). The highest recorded GDP growth of
the agriculture sector was in 2017 at 4 percent

Issue No. 9 93
compared to the previous years, -1.2 percent, put forward the agro-eco-tourism initiatives by
and 0.1 percent in 2016, and 2015, respectively the local government, and the mango farming
(Sanchez, 2020). Despite the contractions in community (Ganzon & Fillone, 2013; Province
agricultural outputs (0.5%), and employment in of Guimaras, 2020).
the sector (3.8%) in 2018 (World Bank, 2018),
it significantly forecasted stable GDP growth in Barbuddhe and Singh (2014, p. 5) defined agro-
agriculture at 0.9 in 2018, and in the years to eco-tourism
come (Sanchez, 2020). This static movement
of agricultural development is one of the “… as the symbiotic association of farm-
problems in the country that can be ascribed ing sector, tourism industry, and farm
to “the uneven distribution of resources, stiff business. It is indeed the economic ac-
competition from cheaper food imports, and tivity that occurs when people link travel
periodic droughts and floods that devastated with agricultural products, services or ex-
crops and livelihoods” (CIDA-LGSP, 2003), periences to cater to the needs of mutual
which is still relevant to date. demands” (Barbuddhe & Singh, 2014, p.
5).
Agriculture in the country emphasizes commercial
crop production as it “assists both the agricultural This novel concept is within the vision of the
export industry, and the domestic demand and Guimaras province to become the “agro-eco-
consumption” (Sanchez, 2020). The commercial tourism capital of the region with empowered,
crops that served as a major contributor to self-reliant, resilient and healthy families enjoy-
agricultural production in the country include ing a progressive economy and safe environ-
rice, corn, coconut, sugar, pineapple, banana, ment anchored on the principles of sustainable
coffee, and mango (Espino & Atienza, n.d.; development” (Province of Guimaras, 2020).
Eusebio, 2019). Meanwhile, mango production Agro-eco-tourism can be differentiated from
significantly contributed to the agricultural agritourism, and agrotourism as the former “is
output of the country. The Philippines had a form of tourism which capitalizes on rural
continuously increased its mango production culture as a tourist attraction” and the latter is
in the past three years, from 9.46 million metric concerned about “reinforcing the employment
tons in 2017 to 9.47 million metric tons in 2018, potential of the sector with increased local hir-
and 9.56 million metric tons in 2019 (PSA, ing, and sourcing, and significant opportunities
2020). On the other hand, the Western Visayas in tourism-oriented toward local culture and
Region has contributed a 4.5 to 5 percent share the natural environment” (Barbuddhe & Singh,
in mango production from 2017 to 2018 (PSA, 2014, p. vi). In achieving the province’s vision,
2020). Within the region, Guimaras Province’s the people involved in the mango industry sector
mango produce is considered the best quality have a vital role in representing the voices, inter-
renowned in the country, and internationally ests, and demands that characterize them. The
(Gomes, 2019; Pabuayon, n.d.). The mango cooperation, and involvement among the sector
production in the province increased as the of mango producers, and community of farmers
demands improve, from 156,900 mt in 2017 to are significant, not only towards addressing the
157,100 mt in 2018, and 159,100 mt in 2019. The demand needed in the local tourism, but also to-
increase in production can also be substantially wards increasing participation of the local com-
attributed to tourist influx during the annual munity, especially the poor and disenfranchised;
Manggahan festival (ABS-CBN News, 2017; thus, ensuring a more inclusive and sustainable
PCAARRD, n.d.). Hence, mango fruit production local agro-eco-tourism development.
development, and tourists’ patronization helped

94 January - December 2020

The establishment of mango cooperatives has members and non-members” (Republic
been identified as one of the key initiatives to of the Philippines, 2009, RA 9520- Art.
attain the mango production, and tourism econ- 23 Sec. 3).
omy goals. Cooperatives, as defined,
Hence, the producers’ cooperative in the man-
“is an autonomous and duly registered go industry of the province of Guimaras is an
association of persons, with a common important stakeholder towards ensuring an em-
bond of interest, who have voluntarily powered, and organized sector in promoting
joined together to achieve their social, their products to the market that will benefit the
economic, and cultural needs and aspi- local economy and tourism development.
rations by making equitable contributions
to the capital required, patronizing their Community members form cooperatives to pro-
products and services and accepting vide the necessary support, especially when
a fair share of the risks and benefits of the marketplace fails to provide the essential
the undertaking in accordance with uni- services, and goods at a fair price, and good
versally accepted cooperative principles” quality. Cooperatives aim to enhance econom-
(Republic of the Philippines, 2009, RA ic opportunities and improve people’s quality
9520- Art. 3). of life through empowerment. It also seeks “to
strengthen bargaining power, maintain access
Currently, the Cooperative Development Au- to competitive markets, capitalize on new mar-
thority (CDA) stated that the country has 18,065 ket opportunities, obtain needed products and
operating cooperatives (CDA, 2018). services on a competitive basis, improve in-
come opportunities, reduce costs, and man-
Specifically, developing producers’ cooperative age risk” (Ortmann, & King, 2007, p.18). They
in the mango industry is vital in cultivating an also create employment opportunities (Birchall,
empowering, inclusive, and collaborative sense 2004; Casadesus-Masanell & Khanna, 2003:
of responsibility among stakeholders, especially Majee & Hoyt, 2011), and build capital in com-
the farmers, towards the province’s agro-eco- munities where they are located (Majee & Hoyt,
tourism development. The CDA classified 308 2011). Recent statistics show that in 2016, the
cooperatives as producers’ cooperative (Inter- CDA recorded 226,400 individuals were given
national Cooperative Alliance [ICA], 2019). Ac- jobs by cooperatives (ICA, 2019). To note, the
cording to Nebraska Cooperative Development producers cooperative in the country alone has
Center (NCDC), “producer cooperatives are employed 13,000 individuals in 2016.
created by producers, and owned and operated
by producers, and they are organized to pro- Meanwhile, Johnson (2010) mentioned that
cess, market, and distribute their own products” modern politics increasingly devolve econom-
(NCDC, 2021). Additionally, RA 9520 defined it ic responsibilities to cooperatives; thus, these
as organizations are being astounded with over-
whelming obligations. Despite this, cooperatives
“one that undertakes joint production situated in rural areas continue to improve, be-
whether agricultural or industrial. It is cause of the awakening consciousness among
formed and operated by its members to farmers; continuous market development; and
undertake the production and processing the government’s key role and concern for pol-
of raw materials or goods produced by icy support (Liu, 2015), while it increases the
its members into finished or processed income of farmers and continuously develop
products for sale by the cooperative to its the rural economy. Considerably, organizing a

Issue No. 9 95
cooperative can bring a social impact vital to the knowledge on manpower needs, sustainable
community’s life. Majee and Hoyt (2011) point- practices, and lack of data on sustainable farm
ed out that “cooperatives bring people together tourism; c) absence or lack of marketing support
to meet a shared need through the operation or corresponding financial incentives, including
of a democratically controlled business.” As it those for joint promotions, participation in trade
functions, they train and educate their members fairs and exhibits, standardization of farm tour-
(Fairbairn et al., 1995; Hoyt, 2004; Majee & ism brands, and assistance in distribution and
Hoyt, 2009; Majee & Hoyt, 2011), and promote marketing of farm products; d) lack of infrastruc-
group effort to address individual and commu- ture support to develop farm to market roads,
nity needs. In a report by ICA (2019), the CDA access roads to the farms, and ultimately wid-
recounted that in 2016, there are 1,045,397 ening (these) to accommodate farm tourism
Filipinos who are members of cooperatives in capacity;” among others (Agriculture Monthly,
the country. The ability of cooperatives to attract 2019). On the other hand, Montefrio and Sin
more people to be involved as members means (2019) pointed out that in the case of the Phil-
that the social capital, and the fabric of commu- ippines, an elitist type of agritourism “emerged
nity life are being strengthened. to become susceptible to patronage politics that
favors old, and new landed elites. And exclude
Some studies on Philippine cooperatives focus underprivileged small farmers” (Montefrio & Sin,
on the streamline ensuring access of people 2019, p. 1339). Furthermore, this phenomenon
to essential services such as water distribution can be understood historically, and culturally
(Peria, 2016); positive impacts of cooperative as a feudalistic notion of the country’s colonial
membership to member’s welfare, and house- past (Constantino & Constantino, 1975). While
hold consumption expenditures (Jimenez et the concept of agro-eco-tourism is very much
al., 2018); and the convergence of cooperative new that it is considered as a hybrid idea of
stakeholders towards enterprise development, responsibility towards the environment along-
capacitation, and sustainability (Duque & Di- side sustainable agricultural and tourism devel-
zon, 2018). Only few focus on the importance of opment (Barbuddhe & Singh, 2014, p. 7), the
producer cooperatives in agricultural industries phenomenon described by Montefrio and Sin
in sustaining local enterprises, and economies, (2019) in the case of agritourism in the country
because available literature focuses mainly on is relevant, and germane to the newly coined
defining cooperatives’ performance or market- term, agro-eco-tourism. In this paper, we argue
ing capacity (Araullo, 2006; Quilloy, 2015; Sum- that cooperation has a substantial impact on
alde, & Quilloy, 2015). ensuring empowered, inclusive, and collabo-
rative community participation and the working
Moreover, the lack of attention, and interest sectors in achieving agro-eco-tourism develop-
in investing capital for agro-eco-tourism in the ment. Notwithstanding the claim that “agritour-
country’s government’s investment priorities; ism governance is mired in state-private sector
and the lack of interest in mobilizing producers’ politics, and that it is dominated by particular ac-
cooperative impede the agro-eco-tourism de- tors, such as the landed elites in the case of the
velopment in the country (Agriculture Monthly, Philippines” (Montefrio & Sin, 2019, p. 1339),
2019). Other salient concerns relating to agro- we attempt to address this by asserting that
eco-tourism development include “a) absence there are mechanisms, such as cooperative or-
of capacity building of local government units ganization, to maintain, promote, and advance
and for farm owners to take on functions of tour the welfare of the crop producers, and the com-
operators to improve markup in favor of farm- munity in general.
ers and their seasonal workforce; b) inadequate

96 January - December 2020

This study analyzes how the producers’ co- services; d) environmental protection, and man-
operative is involved in the agro-eco-tourism agement; e) eco-tourism industry development;
economy in a mango farming community in f) infrastructure development, and community
the province of Guimaras in the Philippines. As development leading to socio-economic trans-
such, the study (a) defines the purpose, nature, formation” (Barbuddhe & Singh, 2014, p. 7).
and dynamics of the Guimaras Mango Grow-
ers and Producers Development Cooperative To posit the identified agro-eco-tourism objec-
(GMGPDC); (b) discusses the participation of tives, the study highlighted crucial roles of the
GMGPDC in the local mango agro-eco-tourism cooperative through thematic review of prima-
economy and how it helps in the development ry and secondary data from key informant in-
of the community in general; and (c) discusses terviews, group discussion, and printed reports
the emergent issues and challenges of the co- from the government. Based on the identified
operative concerning its role in the local mango gaps from Montefrio and Sin (2019), it is essen-
agro-eco-tourism economy. Towards the end, tial to underscore that cooperatives in modern
the study will be providing recommendations economies increasingly become actors towards
as measures to be considered by the coopera- pursuing the marginalized groups’ interests
tive, the LGU, CSOs, and community groups in through empowerment (Kalmi, 2003; Noruzi &
strengthening the mango sector, and the com- Westover, 2010 cited in Aref, 2011). In rural
munity towards agro-eco-tourism development. communities, cooperatives are an integral part
of developing the community’s social, and eco-
nomic facets, especially in pursuing the inter-
METHODOLOGY ests of local industries, and tourism. While the
study site is focused on the province of Guim-
Conceptual Framework and Theoretical aras located in the central Philippines, it spe-
Underpinnings cifically considers the Guimaras Mango Grow-
ers and Producers Development Cooperative
The study traced how cooperatives play a vital (GMGPDC) case towards agro-eco-tourism
role in an empowered, inclusive, and collabora- development. Agro-eco-tourism is commonly
tive involvement in achieving agro-eco-tourism understood in the Philippines as a farm busi-
development alongside various external actors ness and tourism service offered to tourists,
(refer to Figure 1). As defined, this novel term alongside being mindful about protecting, pre-
differs from agrotourism and agritourism (Bar- serving, and developing the environment (Recio
buddhe & Singh, 2014). Essentially, agro-eco- et al., 2014; Sznajder et al., 2009). To further
tourism “would secure a multifunctional, sus- elucidate on the contribution and roles of the
tainable, and competitive agriculture; maintain cooperative, Aref & Gill (2009) mainly consid-
the landscape, and the countryside; contribute ered the individual (the people), community (the
to the vitality of rural communities; respond to informal groups and networks within the com-
consumer concerns, and demands regarding munity), and organizational (established formal
food quality, and safety, environmental protec- organizations on tourism and farming) empow-
tion, animal welfare, etc.” (Barbuddhe & Singh, erment as vital factors that help in establishing
2014, p. 6). This study highlights the follow- and developing the local economy. Meanwhile,
ing selected agro-eco-tourism objectives: “a) external actors such as the government, civil
harmonious integration of diversified farming societies organizations, and private entities are
activities with tourism for sustainable econom- important contributors to enabling the coopera-
ic returns, and ecology; b) local employment tive to perform its role.
generation; c) delivering aesthetic goods, and

Issue No. 9 97
 Figure 1. The Role of Cooperatives in Agro-eco-tourism Development
Sources (as modified): Aref and Gill (2009); Barbuddhe and Singh (2014)

Similarly, the study considered Majee and Hoyt’s search work that has a clear guiding theoretical
(2009) assertion that cooperatives propel com- position. It is vital to investigate contemporary
munity development as residents allocate their phenomena, and cover contextual conditions
economic, social, and political resources, to (Yin, 2003). This type of study was fit to help
improve the local community’s economic devel- the researchers uncover realities, and current
opment process (Fairbairn et al., 1995; Majee situation of the GMGPDC in Guimaras. Morov-
& Hoyt, 2009; Freshwater et al., 2005 cited in er, the method enabled us to carefully analyze
Majee & Hoyt, 2011). Further, the paper argues the cooperative dynamics, specifically how the
that while cooperatives aim to socially, and eco- cooperative helps sustain the local agricultural
nomically help farming communities, establish- economy, and how it impacts the community’s
ing networks within, and outside the community development.
is crucial towards technical, and financial capital
development to prevent tendencies for organi- Data Gathering, Analysis, and Presentation
zational deterioration, and mission drift.
The study used both secondary, and primary
Research Design and Instrumentation data gathering methods. For the secondary data
gathering, the researchers retrieved annual re-
This study utilized the case study meth- ports of the Provincial Economic Development
od to unpack GMGPDC as an entity and hinged Office (PEDO), Provincial Office for Agricultur-
on the defined conceptual framework. Accord- al Services (POAS), Department of Agriculture
ing to Yin (2003), a case study research com- (DA), Bureau of Plant and Industry (BPI), and
prises an all-encompassing methodology that from the website of the province of Guimaras
will thoroughly analyze the problem or subject in on data regarding the local agro-eco-tourism
focus; furthermore, the method is suitable for re- economy. The primary data collection methods

98 January - December 2020

employed were Key Informant Interviews (KII), lished the Guimaras Mango Growers and Pro-
and group discussions using a semi-structured, ducers Development Cooperative (GMGPDC).
open-ended interview guide. All participants The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA)
were oriented on the data gathering processes of the Philippines has registered and recog-
and protocols; and all research-related activities nized the cooperative. Their mission is to facil-
such as actual interviews, recordings, and tran- itate sharing best farming practices, collective
scriptions were conducted with consent of all marketing, and access to government support
the research participants. The KII participants services. At the same time, they envision their
were purposively selected based on informant’s cooperation to help make a well-established
engagement with GMGPDC along with mango organization of mango growers, and producers
industry governance and agro-eco-tourism de- in the province of Guimaras that provides equi-
velopment, and its availability for an interview. table access to benefits, and services to their
The pool of KIIs include the president of the members. To note, the organization is also the
GMGPDC, the Provincial Office for Agricultur- lone producers’ cooperative that focuses on
al Services Chief, the Provincial Planning and the mango industry of the province. It started
Development Officer, a Provincial Legislative with 50 mango growers, traders, and contrac-
Board Member, and the Vice Governor; a total tor-sprayers. They currently plan to expand their
of five KII participants. Meanwhile, eight GMGP- membership by including the mango baggers
DC officers participated in the group discussion. and harvesters.
The study used qualitative data analysis (QDA)
to examine the data, identify themes from the The producers’ cooperative was able to start
transcriptions, and to code the arguments. its financial operation by pooling a small capi-
tal through a yearly membership fee. On top of
this, the producers’ cooperative sourced out a
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION portion of their funds from various enterprises
during the annual mango festival. These enter-
This section discusses three major themes. prising activities include bulk buying, and selling
Firstly, the section presents the background, val- of mango produce to domestic, and internation-
ues, and roles of GMGPDC in the local agricul- al markets. The producers’ cooperative also
tural and tourism economies. Then, it highlights managed to get financial support from national
the interventions done by the local government government agencies; specifically, they were
in collaboration with the GMGPDC in line with able to source funds from the Department of
the initiative to boost the mango agro-eco-tour- Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI)
ism industry. Lastly, it presents the critical is- for constructing the building that serves as their
sues affecting GMGPDC in performing its roles packaging housel and from the Department of
towards sustaining and attaining local agro-eco- Trade and Industry for the vapor heat treatment,
tourism development in the province and possi- and other processing equipment, and supplies.
ble recommendations for the GMGPDC, LGU, The Local Government Unit (LGU) also extends
and civil societies or community groups. financial support to the producers’ cooperative
to support their capital and other expenses. An
The Guimaras Mango Growers and international player also supports the producers’
Producers Development Cooperative cooperative; the Philippine Rural Development
(GMGPDC) Project (PRDP) under the World Bank (WB)
granted a counterpart to the LGU to finance the
On May 22, 2007, a group of mango growers, cooperative’s business plan that can help devel-
farmers, and producers organized, and estab- op the industry further.

Issue No. 9 99
To date, GMGPDC works hand-in-hand with the 70 active cooperative members. The producers’
government for promoting their advocacies, es- cooperative is able to expand their membership
pecially concerning mango farming, and agro- through reaching out to other mango farmers
eco-tourism. At the local level, the Provincial and producers; actively conducting educational
Office for Agricultural Services (POAS) close- campaigns to orient interested growers about
ly coordinates with the cooperative for major the benefits of being a cooperative member.
projects and programs, as well as for activities As a cooperative member, they can expect to
during the mango festival. In 2017, the LGU work, and contribute within bounds of equality,
of Guimaras extended technical, and financial and social justice as they all promote individ-
help, and formally recognized the GMGPDC ual, and industry welfare. Moreover, members
as an organization, and cooperative of mango can expect that the cooperative will encourage,
growers and producers through a provincial res- and facilitate meaningful participation; and that
olution. members will be empowered through being giv-
en opportunities for decision-making. In terms
Aside from the above-mentioned partners, of maintaining external partnerships, the coop-
it also partnered with the Guimaras National erative gives importance to the community’s
Crop Research, Development, Production, and collaboration, and existing formal organizations
Support Center (GNCRDPSC), a special office that can help build, and develop the tourism,
under the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) that local economy, and the mango industry. All of
focuses on various crop research, specifically these efforts are anchored on contributing to the
on mangoes. Various higher academic institu- organization’s primary objective, and advocacy
tions, and secondary schools in the region have – help the mango farming industry in the island
coordinated with the cooperative for some pro- province of Guimaras.
grams and projects. GMGPDC also collaborat-
ed with food factories to process mango-based Specifically, GMGPDC aims to support the grow-
products to establish direct transactions with the ers and producers in the processes and needs
farmers-producers, and expand linkages and of production and assist the mango economy
networks with the market. Some of the food fac- in meeting its domestic and international de-
tories include the popular Trappist Food Prod- mands; most notably, when demand for mango
ucts, and local food processing company Mc- peak during the annual Manggahan festival that
Nester. This collaboration minimizes producers’ happens every mid-April until the last week of
losses whenever there is a surplus of supply May. Since then, the producers’ cooperative has
of produced mangoes. As an intermediary, the been striving to provide services for its mem-
producers’ cooperative buys the farmers’ man- bers, which are necessary to increase mango
go produce at a reasonable price, and thinks of production, and help the local government in the
innovative ways to sell the mangoes at a larger local industry’s development and progress. The
market. In return, the producers’ cooperative producers’ cooperative also enjoins initiative in
uses the profit to fund their financial programs, providing services to non-members in training
and projects to assist members. them on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in
mango production. The Guimaras mangoes
GMGPDC also encountered challenges as an were granted a trademark registration under
organization. In 2007, they faced a low cooper- the Intellectual Property Office Philippines (IP-
ative membership, fell short of financial resourc- OPHL) to maintain the identity, and excellent
es, and also lacked active participation from ex- quality mangoes off for trade from the province.
isting members. As of 2018, GMPDC has around

100 January - December 2020

GMGPDC’s Organizational Values Towards and the producers’ cooperative has already
Cooperation undertaken measures to improve the agro-eco-
tourism industry in the province (see Table 1).
Three GMGPDC organizational values emerged The Guimaras province has become a more
as critical in attaining its goals and objectives. well-known tourist destination for its sweet man-
These emerging core values that shape the goes, and the LGU still sees opportunities for
organization’s actions, and form part of their improving the agricultural industry to further
democratic framings are empowerment, inclu- elevate the province’s economy. The GMGP-
siveness, and collaboration. Instilling democrat- DC extends help to the farmers, especially by
ic principles is vital to empower these sectors providing inputs for production, and facilitating
to implement grassroots activities (Zaimova et the marketing of their products. The organiza-
al., 2012), and the inherent values, and culture tion also ensures that products are transported
of self-help (Lake & Leviten-Reid, 2015) with- well to identified markets, and that products are
in cooperatives that spur social well-being and marketed so as to ensure that all farmers are
support. These producers’ cooperatives that are provided with essential services needed. More-
composed of farmers, and smallholders appeal over, the producers’ cooperative also shares ex-
to a strong push for representation to advance pertise, and knowledge to their members to help
their interest (Moraru, 2018), and at the same build capacities of small growers, and farmers
time, to empower them. Furthermore, produc- for small and medium enterprises (SME), and
ers’ cooperatives provide ways for local com- mango food productions. Table 1 categorizes,
munities to inclusively enhance self-sufficiency, and summarizes the roles, and initiatives of
strengthen farmer’s household economy by GMGPDC towards sustainable local agro-eco-
providing market access and competition, ad- tourism development as discussed with the KII,
vance operations through technological innova- and group discussion participants.
tions, and encourage democratic decision-mak-
ing and leadership (Hermida, 2008). Crucially, Peric and Djurkin (2013) assert that coopera-
collaboration is also an important component tives’ development, and successful manage-
of materializing whatever objectives and goals ment can significantly contribute to commu-
a certain initiative has. In the case of produc- nities’ economic, environmental, and social
ers’ cooperatives, community life development sustainability, especially in rural areas. Notably,
is certainly achievable by activating people’s when the GMGPDC participated in the market-
participation in agricultural, and tourism devel- ing of mango products, and uplifted mango tour-
opment (Effifom, 2014), and collaboration with ism in the province. As an example, the orga-
state, and non-state actors. This dynamic col- nization actively promotes its products through
laboration is possible, because pursuing the involving its members in the annual Manggahan
community interests as goals (i.e., activities that Festival. Their participation in the annual festi-
benefit society at large like the provision of gen- val serves as an opportunity to showcase, and
eral interest services) (Borzaga et al., 2014) is sell their mango products. It genuinely helped
central and common to producers’ cooperative the existing organizations who took charge of
and among these actors. agro-eco-tourism activities, and development
in the province. Aside from the annual festival,
Empowerment, Inclusiveness, and the GMGPDC also represents the province in vari-
Agro-eco-tourism Economy ous agri-trade expos to further promote tourism
development, at the same time building connec-
To date, the GMGPDC has been promoting tions with future investors, and markets of man-
mango economy for more than 10 years now, go products.

Issue No. 9 101

Table 1. Roles and Initiatives of GMGPDC towards Sustainable Local Agro-eco-tourism Develop-
ment

Technical • Technical assistance to farmers and mango growers and farmers to increase the volume
of production
• Provision of fertilizers and inducers to aid the mango production
• Provision of transport facilities for small mango producers from farm to market
• Spearhead strategic and business planning to cooperative members and mango farmers
• Facilitate training for smallholder farmers, and businesspersons on mango-based food
products
Economic/ Business • Linkages and connection to market and traders to secure the sale of mango produce
• Connection with mango food products factories to ensure sale and use of production
surpluses
• Establish mango and agricultural trade fairs during Manggahan festival to increase the
visibility of the cooperative
• Participate in national and international agri-trade fair and expos to showcase agriculture
and tourism
Administrative/ Political • Coordinate with LGU on development programs and projects for the mango sector
• Regular conduct of meeting and training for mango farmers and growers to advance
knowledge and skills in mango farming
• Represent mango growers and farmers to the provincial legislative body
• Initiated to establish a price council to monitor and regulate and control mango price in
the market

The GMGPDC participates in local administra- cal quarantine of the province. We initiat-
tive, executive, and legislative bodies as part ed the resolution and forwarded it to the
of improving both its internal, and external gov- committee on agriculture of the Sanggu-
ernance mechanisms. As part of improving its nian (council), who brought it up to the
internal governance structure, the organization session, and it was approved.]
conducts regular meetings, and conducts vari-
ous training. These activities prove to be helpful Cooperative President
in upscaling skills, facilitating innovation, and
boosting morale of members. Members of the producers’ cooperatives must
be empowered to take the lead in addressing
Interestingly, the GMGPDC is the sole mango their needs. Liu (2015) mentioned that in de-
organization in the province, and the coopera- veloping modern agriculture, it is imperative to
tive has used this advantage by actively repre- instigate a modern vision, and quality among
senting, and leading mango-related initiatives, many farmers to achieve support, and address
and by partnering with local authorities to ef- their concerns. By ensuring adequate represen-
fectively address concerns. One of the officers tation of the sector and the cooperative, local
mentioned that: authorities provide the appropriate avenue for
the sector to express, and discuss critical is-
“Oo, may ara, kay halimbawa ang local sues and needs. Thus, representation is essen-
quarantine sang Guimaras kami na ac- tial to the development of the agro-eco-tourism
tually nag-initiate nag-ubra kami sang economy, and the local community. In principle,
resolusyon, gin-forward namon sa Com- cooperatives and their practices directly im-
mittee on Agriculture sa Sanggunian so pact economic, and community development
siya ang Chairman sang Committee on through cooperation as a mechanism that em-
Agriculture gindala ya na sa session so bodies democratic ways of decision-making,
amo na na-approve ang local quarantine consultation, and participation, which is different
lang.” [Yes, there is. For example, the lo- from that of the market (Beltrán-Tapia, 2012).

102 January - December 2020

Collaboration with Government and building new ones is imperative for the organi-
Non-Government Institutions zation’s financial and technical needs. Hence,
supporting the networks for improving social
Essentially, the collaboration between cooper- capital enhancement is essential. The KIIs, and
atives, government, and non-government bod- group discussions conducted provided details
ies flourished to address the needs of the local on initiatives by GMGPDC (Table 2) in collabo-
economy, agro-eco-tourism, and community ration with government partners, and non-gov-
development. Majee and Hoyt (2011) claimed ernment organizations to address immediate
that social capital is important to cooperatives needs for local agro-eco-tourism economy, and
as it is drives development of the organization. community development.
Strengthening existing social networks and

Table 2. GMGPDC Initiatives in Collaboration with Government and Non-Government Institutions for
Agro-eco-tourism Development

Focus Initiatives Partners

Development Planning and • Participation in the Committee on Agriculture LGU, Provincial Legislative Board, Provin-
Organizing and the Provincial and Development Plan cial Office for Agricultural Services, Pro-
• Strategic planning and capacity building for vincial Planning and Development Office,
the GMGPDC; Strengthening the leadership Provincial Economic Development Office
and organization of GMGPDC
• Entrepreneurial training and business
planning
Development Projects and • Proposal and implementation of the World Bank, LGU, Department of Agricul-
Facilities Philippine Rural Development Project (Farm ture, Bureau of Plant and Industry, Provin-
to Market Roads) to facilitate easy access cial Office for Agricultural Services
and marketing
• Establishment of Post-Harvest Facilities to
expand and maintain the shelf life of harvest
Production Inputs and • Delivery of planting materials, inducers, and LGU, Provincial Office for Agricultural Ser-
Materials Provisions necessary substance for production use to vices, Guimaras National Crop Research
facilitate good quality harvest and Development, Production, and Support
• Technical skills training and business Center
practices sharing to aid small farmers and
producers
Advertisement, Promotion, • Roadshows and Agriculture Trade Expo Department of Tourism, Malls and Trade
and Marketing • Participation in national and international Centers (i.e., Robinsons, SM, etc.), local
conventions for agriculture and mango beach and in-land resorts
industries
• Coordination and promotion for the sale of
mango fruit and mango food products to
local resort owners
Data Source: Summarized from KII and Group Discussion

“TTi subong ang local government dako local government looks up to the man-
na ang pagtan-aw sa mga mango grow- go growers more than ever. This year,
ers subong komparar san-una kay sini because of the production failure due
lang gani last year nag-lobby kami sa to weather conditions, we lobbied to the
province kay tungod nag-failure kami sa province, and they grant us 1 million
productions tungod sa weather condition pesos. This is assistance for produc-
so nag-grant sila samon 1 million. Bale tion, and it is up to us how we will use it]
assistance sa production so way man
na interest, depende na na samon kung Cooperative Member A
pano namon na ipalakaton.” [Now, the

Issue No. 9 103

 “Ang GNCRDPSC, kay kung every time Cooperative that they will be supporting
may problema kami sa mangga hapos the programs of the Provincial Govern-
gid magkadto dira, kung mamangkot ka ment on the mango industry, especially
ano nga solusyon ma-offer nila. Kadamo that sometimes, we lack mango supply]
actually sang mga technical solutions
nga gina-offer nila sa amon. Ti kung may Provincial Board Member on Agriculture
mga seminars nga related sa mangga
kami man gihapon ang ginagaan priori- The yearly supply of mangoes is a significant
ty.” [In times that we have problems con- concern of the local agro-eco-tourism economy,
cerning mango production, it is effortless this is why the LGU took an extra effort to col-
to reach out to the GNCRDPSC to ask laborate with the producers’ cooperative to meet
for solutions. They have a lot of technical the market demands, especially during the an-
solutions to offer to us. If there are semi- nual mango festival. According to Shrestha et
nars, they are giving us a priority] al. (2012), the collaboration of local and nation-
al stakeholders, governmental and non-gov-
Cooperative Member B ernmental organizations, “can strengthen their
technical, managerial, and financial resources,
Because of the producers’ cooperative ability thus contributing to long-term sustainability.”
to lead, and organize mango production in the With this, stakeholders strengthen the cooper-
island, various institutions have invested their ative and mango producers’ capacity for service
trust, and showed interest to help. This, in turn, delivery to meet the production demands and
further encourages, and capacitates the orga- help the community significantly.
nization to perform their roles, and help in the
mango economy. Considering that farmers are
essential workers who produce the needed Organizational Challenges and Ways
supply, local authorities direct their attention to Forward
the sector to allow the industry’s development.
Some local officials said that: The GMGPDC identified multiple issues that in-
hibit the organization to perform its roles, and
“Yes, because we have the so-called their capacity to sustain the local agro-eco-
over-site function. So, for example, we tourism. The major issues are categorized into
authorize the spending of funds because organizational dynamics; financial capacities;
their work is vital to the economy. We and production systems. Primarily, GMGDPDC
have the over-site function to look or dig identified its organization’s dynamics as a crit-
deeper into what happened to the funds ical factor to operationalize, and deliver princi-
that were expended by that association..” ples, objectives, and goals of the cooperative
that benefits its members, and the broader com-
Provincial Vice-Governor munity. To emphasize the importance of a func-
tioning cooperative dynamics, the cooperative
“Kag may assurance ang Mango Grow- president shared that:
ers Cooperative nga dapat suportahon
nila ang programa sang Provincial Gov- “Hapos lang ni tani ang coop padlaganon
ernment sa mangga naton kay kung kis-a kung tanan lang nga officials ga function.
ginakulang kita sa supply.” [We also got Kis-a gwa mo one-man army ka ti wala
an assurance from the Mango Growers gid” [It is uncomplicated to run the coop-

104 January - December 2020

 erative if all the officials are functioning. “Sa tuod-tuod lang kay problemado man
Sometimes, it becomes a one-person kami sa financial, ang amon lang guro
army.] na-extend sa members technical assis-
tance sa mga miyembro nga nagakinan-
Cooperative President glan. Kag usually informal lang nga con-
versation, ga-exchange ideas lang kami
Another challenging aspect of maintaining the pero kami way kami gadinalok sa busi-
cooperative is the need to manage finances ness practices gina-share lang namon
in a manner that capitalizes on the expensive sila kay mga miyembro man.” [Honestly,
production cost. As evident from their historical we are also financially constrained, and
accounts, investing in mango production is a the things that we can extend are tech-
high-risk financial decision, especially as pro- nical assistance to other members who
duction is heavily affected by weather, weather need it. Usually, during informal conver-
conditions, and pest infestations. Some of the sations, exchange of ideas, and sharing
cooperative members said: of business practices with other mem-
bers]
“Baw damo gid. Number one, capital gid
eh. Kinanglanon mo gid na kay dako ang Cooperative Member C
investment sang mangga. Dason market
mo. Sa subong ang post-harvest namon There are other issues that members of the
nga problem nasabat na sang coop ya.” producers’ cooperative and from the govern-
[The number one is capital. We need ment highlighted during the group discussion
significant investment for the mangoes, and interview. Various critical problems ham-
then the market. As of now, the problem per the development of GMGPDC include the
for post-harvest is already solved by the execution of the producers’ cooperative’s roles
cooperative] towards mango agro-eco-tourism and delivery
services to mango farming community range
Cooperative President from membership, organization, participation,
and dynamics (see Table 3).

Table 3. Key Issues and Concerns od GMGPDC

Areas Key Issues

• Dysfunctional officers and weak leadership
Organizational • Low membership from small and medium producers
Dynamics • Lack of participation and commitment from members
Internal

• Members focus on personal business and competition; a conflict of interest to the

purpose of cooperation
Financial Capacities • Lack of financial transparency
Technical Capacities • Lack of mango cooperative database for data storage and record
• Overly devolved responsibilities and obligations from the government for agro-eco-tour-
ism development that causes organizational fatigue
Governance and • Weak implementation of policies and regulation for mango production and quarantine
External

Policy measures
• Lack of deployed regulators from the taskforce to enforce mango quarantine measures,
and other clauses mandated by the ordinance
• Lack of interest from the younger generation to involve in mango farming, which may
Sustainability later lead to a lack of workforce in mango production

Issue No. 9 105

Hence, this confirms that those claimed by local community are vital to organizations (Peric
Effiom (2014) are relevant issues to the case & Djurkin, 2013). A participatory approach in an
of the Guimaras mango industry. Some of the organization is essential to maintaining a holis-
challenges met by GMGPDC, as Effiom (2014) tic dynamic.
mentioned, include poor internal management,
and lack of trained staff on operational functions Nevertheless, the collaboration and connec-
in the cooperative that hinders its full operation tion of networks, supporting Majee and Hoyt’s
and delivery of services. Another is the issues (2011) claim, is a clear manifestation that GMG-
on the limited financial resources on the part of PDC addresses tourism and economic develop-
members in paying their regular membership ment. Despite the issues concerning the organi-
contribution, and for some reason, they hardly zation and the mango economy, the cooperative
cope with the production costs. In this vein, the initiatives translate to the success of rural agri-
cooperative also finds this one of the factors of culture and tourism (Aref & Gill, 2009). Besides,
financial constraints in the organization’s oper- the mango farming community of the province
ation, which goes back to the internal manage- of Guimaras develops along with its mango
ment difficulties mentioned earlier. Moreover, economy and tourism since there is an indirect
dishonesty in terms of pursuing personal over relationship between tourism development and
collective interest was cited as a factor that rural communities, especially in agriculturally
hinders the cooperative in moving forward. driven societies (Fleischer & Tchetchik, 2005).
Members of the cooperative have professed
that there are instances where the cooperative
was misrepresented. Instead of pursuing what CONCLUSION
could benefit the collective, some of the mem-
bers were using the cooperative’s name to take The local agricultural cooperative in the man-
advantage of the networks for marketing their go industry in Guimaras, Philippines is an es-
own produce beyond the fair priced as agreed sential driver towards addressing challenges
within the organization. The loophole within and delivering goals and objectives set for the
the members’ internal dynamics (referred to development of the local agricultural economy.
the misrepresentation and dishonesty) has led The study provided a clear understanding of the
some investors and capitalist to take advan- roles of GMGPDC towards the agro-eco-tourism
tage of this weakness and turn it into something economy and mango farming community in the
that benefits them. Big capitalists and inves- province of Guimaras. Necessarily, there were
tors in the market turn to frustrate cooperative initiatives that the cooperative has undertaken
advancement and growth to protect their own together with various organizations and gov-
business and absence of communality among ernment agencies to respond to the needs of
members (Effiom, 2014). Generally, the mem- the mango industry and address the concerns
bers also acknowledged the organization’s of mango farmers and producers. Notwithstand-
weakness in terms of financial management, ing, internal and external issues and concerns
operations, and leadership, which have led to were raised, ranging from organizational and
the pilling of salient issues and concerns. Peric technical matters relevant to the cooperative as
& Djurkin (2013) point out that the critical prin- it responded to the mango industry.
ciples towards development in the cooperative
are not limited to social goals and democratic Regardless, the study infers that the networks
governance. Perhaps, operational democratic identified between government and non-gov-
principles and real participation of members in ernment institutions, and the cooperative are
decision-making, and constant concern for the instrumental towards developing the coopera-

106 January - December 2020

tive, sustaining the agro-eco-tourism economy, attaining its mission towards the mango farming
and pursuing sustainable growth among man- community and the agro-eco-tourism devel-
go farming communities. The GMGPDC is in- opment. Hence, we generated crucial recom-
clusively empowered while it collaborates with mendations that the three actors, namely the
various institutions, and improves the mango GMGPDC, LGU, and the civil societies or the
farming sector. It is important to note that coop- community groups, may consider to achieve fur-
eratives are vital to rural communities, especial- ther a more empowered, inclusive, and collabo-
ly in addressing agricultural development and rative participation of the producers’ cooperative
tourism concerns. Barton (2000), and Ortmann the development of agro-eco-tourism economy
and King (2007) even support that cooperatives and the mango industry in the province of Gui-
generally aim to obtain inputs and services at maras.
lower costs than getting it somewhere else at a
higher price. Similarly, cooperatives help mar- To GMGPDC
keting the products at a good yet profitable rate
that can be beneficial to the members. While Our recommendations to GMGPDC encom-
successful agro-eco-tourism development usu- pass elements on organizational concerns;
ally determined by substantive capital input, social capital; networks, and partnerships; and
marketing, reliance on external advice, and fi- transparency on fiscal information. These rec-
nance (Connell et al., 2015), the study empha- ommendations focus on improving salient col-
sized that development cooperatives in rural laborative governance, and dynamic organiza-
agricultural industries assist this by enabling tions measures; all of which are anchored on
sector and local communities to promote hu- the recognized importance of the GMGPDC as
man, social, and economic developments (Te- a stakeholder, and as a driver of agro-eco-tour-
odosio, 2009). More importantly, the process of ism in the province.
empowerment, inclusiveness, and collaboration
ensures that the GMGPDC as a producers’ co- First, the cooperative’s organizational concerns
operative, organized and initiated by and with can be addressed by establishing a substantive
the farmer-producers in the mango industry of agenda for strategic planning, scenario-based
the province of Guimaras, exemplified poten- foresight, and SWOT analysis on various chal-
tials in addressing the concern over an elitist lenges concerning them. This will help GMGP-
type of agri-eco-tourism, to a more community, DC identify crucial concerns that urgently need
and sector-oriented agri-eco-tourism develop- their attention. Second, as membership is an
ment initiatives. Irrespective, there is still a dire essential social capital, the cooperative may ad-
need to ensure that the existing gaps and key dress this by expanding its reach, and organiz-
issues identified should be further addressed ing local chapters or groups per municipality to
to achieve a pro-people-oriented development promote their organization. Through community
genuinely aspired in our local communities. forums, the organization can extensively expand
its reach for information dissemination towards
educating the people and the target population
RECOMMENDATIONS on the contribution and importance of the pro-
ducers’ cooperative of the Guimaras mango in-
RECOMMENDATIONS dustry. Third, while networks with government
The findings commended how the GMGPDC units, and private groups have been well es-
works towards the local agro-eco-tourism econ- tablished locally, the cooperative may consider
omy; it cannot be neglected that the coopera- extending the networks through representation
tive’s challenges are crucial in forwarding and in trade expos, and proactively participating

Issue No. 9 107

in regional, national, and international forums mango industry’s existing ordinance. Secondly,
with other cooperatives to facilitate exchange the LGU may expand its efforts by intensifying
innovative ideas, and best practices. These net- its networks with international partners, mainly
works will later help in boosting the cooperative targeting cities and private organizations to pro-
and mango industry’s reach for agro-eco-tour- mote the industry and tourism activities in the
ism. And last, the cooperative may advance the province. They can tap, and learn from other
transparency on fiscal information, initiatives cities, and LGUs that they were able to estab-
such as programs and projects, coop activities, lish partnerships with. Local Government Units
and products and services using modern media (LGU) are at the forefront of establishing net-
platforms. Though annual reports are taken up works, and with assistance from the community
during general assemblies, it is equally neces- groups, and civil societies, the cooperative can
sary to strengthen its visibility by developing a connect with these groups, and mainstream the
website, and social media account to promote needed assistance for agro-eco-tourism devel-
cooperative services, and products. Through opment. Last, the LGU may consider providing
this, GMGPDC can extend its reach to its mem- additional technical assistance and funding
bers, potential individual members, groups, and along with ensuring transparency on adminis-
other organizations to establish future networks. trative (on programs and qualifications of ben-
eficiaries) processes; and fiscal policies, such
To Local Government Unit (LGU) as the the release of finances (who receives the
funding and amount), and financial reports.
Our recommendation for the LGU focuses on
strengthening its role as a state actor within the To Civil Society Organizations and
agro-eco-tourism development framework, and Community Groups
on its local mandate to facilitate sustainable de-
velopment in the area. The agro-eco-tourism The civil society organizations and community
development in the province is the state’s ini- groups are considered third sectors that act as
tiative in collaboration with various stakehold- reinforcers of development initiatives needed by
ers; thus, it is equally important for the state local communities towards addressing social,
to be accountable to several responsibilities in and economic well-being. Here, the study rec-
strengthening the producers’ cooperative’s ca- ommends to concentrate on consultation, advo-
pacity. cacy, and coordination as fundamental roles of
civil societies, and community groups towards
First, in order to strengthen both the GMGP- the producers cooperative. While these groups
DC’s existing contributions, and the local tra- mostly coordinate funding for private entities’
jectory towards agro-eco-tourism, the LGU programs, it is equally important to consult, and
must ensure proper implementation of all local get to know the cooperative, and farming com-
ordinances, as well as related natural resource munity’s priorities. Civil societies organizations
management policies. Proper implementation and community groups may consider forging
can be operationalized by effective coordina- strong linkages with the local government, and
tion within, and among concerned government, the cooperative to facilitate forums and consul-
and non-government units; and ensuring that tations before planning for possible community
social and environmental safeguards are tak- needs.
en into consideration. While the current mea-
sures have already extensively reached the Moreover, as the province, together with GMG-
local barangays, the provincial LGU may also PCD, aims for agro-eco-tourism development,
consider extra measures such as conducting an community groups, and CSOs may also assist
education drive to inform the people about the by expanding the campaign to promote the

108 January - December 2020

province in national and international societies Aref, F. (2011). Agricultural cooperatives for ag-
where these entities are connected. Civil soci- ricultural development in Iran. Life Sci-
ety organizations, and community groups may ence Journal, 8(1), 82-85.
also coordinate with the LGUs to find possible
partners, and funders in crafting proposals for Aref, F., & Gill, S. S. (2009). Rural tourism de-
programs and projects that will help the mango velopment through rural cooperatives.
agro-eco-tourism industry. Lastly, while the role Nature and Science, 7(10), 68-73.
of GMGPDC is a key element in agro-eco-tour-
ism development, CSOs may assist by forging Barbuddhe, S. B., & Singh, N. P. (2014). Agro-
linkages with local communities for community eco-tourism: a new dimension to agri-
development projects, while also engaging the culture.
cooperative to promote further the organiza-
tion’s information dissemination, and program Barton, D. (2000). What is a cooperative? Un-
implementation. published paper, Kansas State Univer-
sity, USA.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Beltrán-Tapia, F. (2012). Commons, social cap-

ital, and the emergence of agricultural
We sincerely appreciate the constructive com- cooperatives in early twentieth century
ments and suggestions of the two reviewers, Spain. European Review of Economic
and the help of the language editor to improve History, 16(4), 511-528.
this paper. Also, thanks to the Guimaras Man-
go Growers and Producers Development Co- Birchall, J. (2004). Cooperatives and the Mil-
operative (GMGPDC), and to the officials and lennium Development Goals. Retrieved
employees of the province of Guimaras for their from http://www.community-wealth.org
valuable contribution to this study. / _pdfs /articles-publications /outsideus
/book-birchall.pdf

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Issue No. 9 113

A Study on Media Utilization and Preference for Food and
Nutrition Information of Selected College Students in the
University of the Philippines Los Baños
Mayque Coleen T. Ladigohon a , Marie Faye R. Nguyen-Orca a, Joyce P. Parco a *
a
Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Media has always been utilized as source of information, including that of food and nutrition. This
study sought to analyze students’ media utilization and preference for food and nutrition information
and their relationship with students’ socio-economic profile and nutritional status. With a descriptive
cross-sectional research design, a survey was carried out among 70 students residing at the Vet-
erinary Medicine Dorm of the University of the Philippines Los Baños using self-administered ques-
tionnaire. Assessment of their nutritional status was also conducted. Data were analyzed through a
combination of descriptive and inferential statistics. Majority of the respondents were female (74%);
and junior standing (43%) with a household income not exceeding Php 350,000. In terms of nutri-
tional status, only one student was obese, 12 were underweight, 6 were overweight, and 51 were
mainly classified as normal. Most of the students (84.3%) had sought information related to food and
nutrition. The prevailing reason they seek such information was for health purposes. Overall, findings
revealed that cellular phone and the Internet were the media channels most commonly used by the
students. Most of them preferred the Internet, cellular phone, and television as channels for their food
and nutrition information needs. Through the Chi-Square Test of Independence, significant associa-
tions were found among these variables: household income and utilization of media channels such
as cellular phone, books, and the Internet; and media preference and utilization of all media channels
except for cellular phone and the Internet. These findings lend a basis for developing communication
strategies aimed at promoting food and nutrition among college students.

Keywords: media utilization, media preference, food and nutrition information, nutritional status

INTRODUCTION and fastest growing type of media, provides dif-

ferent platforms on which various forms of com-
Media is a collective term that refers to com- munication may take place. Using media as a
munication channels through which informa- tool for communication brings about a lot of ben-
tion and messages are disseminated. Differ- efits. Through the utilization of media, one can
ent types of media include print and broadcast obtain useful information which is a key element
media, as well as the Internet. Print media may needed in the development of one’s knowledge
cover newspapers, magazines, books, and oth- (Oswalt, 2010; Biagi, 2012).
er printed materials. Another type of media is
broadcast media which generally refers to tele- Nutrition plays a significant role in people’s lives
vision and radio. The Internet, which is the latest and affects them in varied ways depending on
the types of food that they eat. Malnutrition is

114 January - December 2020

defined as not getting enough or getting more establishment of desirable food, nutrition, and
than enough of a nutrient or energy in signifi- health practices (Hindin, Contento, & Gussow,
cant amounts over time. Food choice is affect- 2004; Houts, Doak, & Loscalzo, 2006; Ngimwa,
ed by different factors such as food preference, Ocholla, & Ojiambo, 1997). This makes uni-
habit, ethnicity, society, economy, the positive versities, colleges, and its students a potential
and negative associations that a person relates target audience for the promotion of information
to food, emotional comfort that a person gets regarding food and nutrition. However, little is
from food among others. The right foundation known about the information-seeking behavior
for good health is choosing the right kind of of students on different media. Thus, the focal
food that results in a varied and balanced diet questions of this study: how do college students
(Rolfes, Pinna and Whitney, 2009). College stu- utilize media and what are their preferred media
dents are observed to be prone to malnutrition for food and nutrition information? This study
since they are at a stage where they are influ- looked into their preferred and utilized media
enced by many factors which affect their eat- channels in seeking health and nutrition infor-
ing patterns and behaviors. Unhealthy dieting mation and elicited relationships of these to their
behaviors among adolescents are high which socio-economic profile and nutritional status.
frequently causes eating disorders such as an-
orexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eat-
ing disorder. There are studies which show that METHODOLOGY
health-related factors and lifestyles are associ-
ated with weight gain and obesity of college stu- This study adapts a descriptive cross-section-
dents and that nearly 32% of college students al research design. Data were gathered using
are either overweight or obese (Magoc, Toma- a survey and analyzed through descriptive and
ka, and Thompson, 2010; Pedersen and Ket- inferential statistics. The study was conducted
cham, 2009; Perusse-Lachance, Tremblay, and in the University of the Philippines Los Baños,
Drapeau, 2010). According to the 8th Annual Laguna, particularly at the Veterinary Medicine
National Nutrition Survey, 3 out of 10 adults are Residence Hall. Respondents of the study con-
overweight. In most cases, the likelihood of a sisted of male and female students aged 16-29
female being obese or overweight is higher than years old. The sample size was determined us-
that of a male (FNRI, 2014). ing OpenEpi ver. 3 where the reference popula-
tion used was 376 (dorm at full capacity), with
Even though there are already existing nutri- hypothesized frequency at 30%±10, and 10%
tion information, it does not necessarily mean precision. The sample size generated at 95%
that people are aware of it. The process of dis- confidence level was 67, thus the sample size
seminating information encounters many prob- applied was 70 to maintain sample size integrity
lems that hinder information from reaching its in case of drop-outs. The 70 students were se-
target audience. Therefore, information should lected through convenience sampling where the
be disseminated to the audience through a me- students were asked for their voluntary consent
dium that they commonly use. Media plays a to participate in the study.
major role in educating, informing, and creating
awareness for health practices. Also, it serves Data collection was done using a self-admin-
as an extensive source of nutrition-related in- istered questionnaire. The questionnaire con-
formation for the public. Availability and chang- sists of questions regarding the socio-economic
es of messages relating to food and nutrition characteristics of the respondents (age, gender,
conveyed in media directly influence health household income, etc.); reasons for seeking in-
practices. Moreover, there are researches that formation related to food and nutrition; frequen-
present the relationship between media and the cy of media utilization; and media preference for

Issue No. 9 115

food and nutrition information. Soon after, the and nutrition. For the analysis of relationship
height and weight of the students were mea- between variables (sociodemographic and me-
sured and recorded to determine the nutritional dia utilization and preference of the students;
status of the students. The computation of the media utilization and preference of the students;
nutritional status of the students was based on media utilization and nutritional status of the
the formula provided by the World Health Or- students), the obtained data were cross-tabu-
ganization (WHO): Body Mass Index (BMI) = lated and analyzed through Chi-Square Test of
(weight in kilograms) / (height in meter2). The Independence.
computed BMI was classified based on the
WHO cutoff points shown in Table 1.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1. WHO BMI cutoff points
Profile of UPLB college students

BMI Classification Majority of the study’s respondents were female

< 18.5 Underweight (74%), 19 years of age (29%), and had junior
18.5 – 24.9 Normal standing (43%). The household income of the
25 – 29.9 Overweight students was identified based on the tuition
30 – 34.9 Obese I brackets under the University’s Socialized Tui-
> 35 Obese II tion System (STS). Majority of the respondents
(40%) had household income ranging from Php
325,000 – 600,000 (Figure 1). The tuition brack-
Descriptive analysis was used for analyzing and ets under the UP STS are as follows: Bracket A
interpreting the sociodemographic and econom- – above Php 1 million; Bracket B – Php 500,001
ic data, media utilization (whether the students to Php 1 million; Bracket C – Php 250,001 to
seek for food and nutrition–related information Php 500,000; and Bracket D – Php 135,001 to
or not and their reasons), and frequency of me- Php 250,000.
dia use for seeking information related to food

Figure 1. Socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the respondents

116 January - December 2020

Nutrition information-seeking behavior The data shown in Figure 2 suggested that
the most common reason for seeking food and
When asked if they have sought information nutrition information was for health purposes
about food and nutrition, majority of the respon- (57.1%). This result echoed the study done by
dents (84.3%) reported that they had sought in- Sultan et al. (2017), where they observed that
formation related to food and nutrition; only 11 the health information-seeking behavior of stu-
out of 70 (15.7%) reported not having sought in- dents was greatly influenced by personal and
formation related to food and nutrition (Table 2). family sickness. For those who did not seek
information (15.7%), one reason they identi-
fied was that there was no incident that drove
Table 2. Nutrition information-seeking behavior them to seek information (10%); while others
of respondents (6%) reported that seeking information is not
important for them (Figure 2). It is important to
Information note, however, that even though many students
Frequency Percentage
seeking have sought information about food and nutri-
Yes 59 84.3 tion, useful information can be obtained if the
No 11 15.7 information seeker has the skill to search pre-
TOTAL 70 100 cise and relevant information (Ganaie & Khazer,
2014).

Figure 2. Reasons for seeking/not seeking information related to food and nutrition

Media utilization the least utilized (37.1%) by the respondents.

However, broadcasting useful information about
The students who sought nutrition information food and nutrition should not be discontinued
were asked about the type of media channels since radio has been widely used as a chan-
that they utilize and their frequency of using them nel for nutrition education due to its affordability
(Figure 3). The results revealed that radio was and accessibility. In low income countries, using

Issue No. 9 117

radio to disseminate nutrition information has Since they are mostly glued to these media
shown to build capacity and broaden the reach channels, it may have influenced the high uti-
for interventions aimed at improving nutrition-re- lization in seeking food and nutrition-related in-
lated behaviors (USAID, 2017). On the other formation. Students consult an array of informa-
hand, cellular phone (24.3%) and the Internet tion sources to satisfy their information needs.
(34.3%) were used on a daily basis. Universi- Meanwhile, the majority of the respondents use
ty students are known to be active users of the posters, charts, and/or booklets for less than
Internet and social networking sites, specifically once a month to obtain information on food and
for communication (Horgan & Sweeney, 2012). nutrition.

Figure 3. Media utilization of the respondents

Media utilization vis-à-vis household income at least 2-3 times per week. On the other hand,
students from Bracket C utilized television for
Major factors influencing the choice of media is information daily. Interestingly, the association
related to awareness, information literacy, or- between the use of both the Internet and cellular
ganizational and environmental issues, source phone were significantly associated with income
characteristics, and demographics (Ganaie & (p-value=0.013 and p-value=0.010, respective-
Khazer, 2014). Thus, utilization of each media ly). This indicates that although the Internet and
channel and the annual household income of the cellular phone are commonly used by most of
respondents were assessed (Figure 4). Most of the students, disparity can still be observed
the respondents whose household income was among income classifications. Meanwhile, the
classified as Bracket C had never used radio use of books as a source of nutrition information
for seeking information on food and nutrition. was also found to be associated with income. In
Whereas, majority whose household income addition, most of the students who utilize books
were classified as Bracket D and E2 uses radio daily are those from Bracket C income category.

118 January - December 2020

 Figure 4. Media utilization of each platforms and annual household income (income bracket
C to E2 from inner to outer circle)

Issue No. 9 119

Media utilization and nutritional status the respondents reside. These findings were
not surprising since preference for a particu-
It was noted that the main reason for seeking lar source of information is based on personal
nutrition information was for health reasons. knowledge and availability of resources. Main
Thus, the nutritional status of the students was reasons may include ease of access, conve-
evaluated and tested if it had association with nience, and information literacy skills (Desta
their media utilization. The nutritional status of et al., 2017). In terms of relationship between
all the respondents is shown in Table 3. Notably, the variables, except for internet and cellular
majority of the respondents (72.9%) fall under phones, utilization of all the other platforms are
normal nutritional status. However, the rest of significantly associated with preference—radio
the students classified as underweight (17.1%), (p<0.001); television (p=0.001); poster/charts/
overweight (8.6%), and obese (1.4%) must not booklets (p=0.020); magazine (p=0.030); books
be discounted. Among the 70 students, the nu- (p<0.001); and newspaper (p<0.001).
tritional status of the 59 who sought nutrition in-
formation were compared with their utilization of
Table 4. Media preference of respondents who
the different media channels (Figure 5). More-
seek food and nutrition information.
over, the results on the test done with the two
variables showed that there was no association
established between nutritional status and the Rank Weighed
Media Platform Mean SD
Order Score
use of media channels. Overall, students hav-
Radio 8 1.68 0.819 99
ing normal nutritional status used all types of
Television 3 3.25 0.993 192
media with varied frequency depending on the
Cellular phone 2 4.53 0.728 267
media. As expected, usage of cellular phones
Internet 1 4.76 0.468 281
and the Internet were the same across nutrition-
al status. Poster/Chart/ 4 2.42 1.148 143
Booklets
Magazines 6 2.07 1.032 122

Table 3. Nutritional status of the respondents Books 5 2.31 1.163 136

Newspaper 7 1.86 1.042 110

Classification Frequency Percent

Obese II 1 1.4
Table 5. Media preference of respondents who
Overweight 6 8.6 do not seek food and nutrition information.
Normal 51 72.9
Underweight 12 17.1 Rank Weighed
Media Platform Mean SD
Order Score
Total 70 100
Radio 5 2.09 1.300 23
Television 3 3.55 0.688 39
Media utilization and preference Cellular phone 2 4.09 0.944 45
Internet 1 4.54 0.674 51
The Internet, closely followed by cellular phone,
Poster/Chart/ 4 2.73 1.104 30
and television emerged as the preferred media Booklets
by the respondents whether they had sought in- Magazines 5 2.09 0.701 23
formation about nutrition and food or not. The Books 5 2.09 0.831 23
identification of television as one of the most Newspaper 6 1.54 0.674 18
preferred media can be attributed to its avail-
ability and accessibility in the dormitory where

120 January - December 2020

 Figure 5. Media utilization of each platforms and nutritional status

Issue No. 9 121

CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES
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about food and nutrition information among col- Factors affecting the information-seek-
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of the 70 students surveyed, 59 sought informa- pia Regional Learning Centre. Informa-
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Issue No. 9 123

January - December 2020
Volume 9 No. 1
 The Journal of Human Ecology is a scholastic peer reviewed publication of the
College of Human Ecology (CHE) in the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).

EDITORIAL BOARD ISSUE REVIEWERS

JOHE January - December 2020 Erica B. Tabuac, RND, PhD Reynaldo L. Magpantay, Jr.
9th Issue, Volume 1 Laguna State Polytechnic University Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Sta. Mesa Manila
Cheamson Garret K. Boongaling Elaine Lorilla-Bañares
Department of Community and Manila Tytana Colleges Maria Rossa Agatha J. Ermino, RND, MSc
Environmental Resource Planning Laguna State Polytechnic University Sta.
College of Human Ecology, Adriann Meneses Quilloy Cruz
University of the Philippines Los Baños University of the Philippines Los Baños
Editor-in-Chief Abigail A. Pabro
Ana Leah Dungog-Cuizon, DPA National Nutrition Council
Aimee Sheree A. Barrion, PhD University of the Philippines
Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Hazel T. Lat
College of Human Ecology, April M. Perez, PhD Food and Nutrition Institute
University of the Philippines Los Baños Batangas State University Main Campus I
Member Iris Rowena A. Bernardo, RND, MPH
Shirley G. Cabrera, PhD Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Marison Felicidad R. Dy, PhD Batangas State University
Department of Human & Joyce P. Parco
Family Development Studies Rodesa T. Naupal-Forcadilla University of the Philippines Los Baños
College of Human Ecology University of the Philippines Los Baños
University of the Philippines Los Baños Alvin M. Manalansan
Member Alexandra Jean Catindig Palis, PhD Citizen Watch Philippines
University of the Philippines Los Baños
Greg Tabios Pawilen, PhD Florinia E. Merca, PhD
Department of Human & Karla Monique L. Padrelanan University of the Philippines Los Baños
Family Development Studies Hamad Medical Corporation
College of Human Ecology Adoracion P. Resurreccion, PhD
University of the Philippines Los Baños International Rice Research Institute
Member Irma Ubaldo Danao
University of the Philippines Los Baños
Emilia S. Visco, PhD
Department of Social Development Services Joan I. Delomen
College of Human Ecology University of the Philippines Los Baños
University of the Philippines Los Baños
Member

Eunice A. del Rosario

Office of the Dean,
College of Human Ecology
University of the Philippines Los Baños
Managing Editor Permission Information
No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
Elizabeth M. Casabuena by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise; without prior consent
Office of the Dean, from the UP Los Baños College of Human Ecology.
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 Table of Contents

ARTICLES

1 Perceived Nutritional Status, Body Satisfaction and Fad Dieting among Middle-
Adolescent Students of the University of the Philippines Rural High School in Los
Banos, Laguna
Liezl M. Atienza, Sarah Marie A. Don, Marjorie Anne A. Layosa, Gemaima C. Evangelista

12 Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices on Protected Mealtimes among Registered

Nutritionist-Dietitians in Private Tertiary Care Hospitals in Laguna
Tomee Vikki Lei R. Chua, Marie Faye R. Nguyen-Orca, Irma U. Danao

22 Assessment of Lactation Stations in the University of the Philippines Los Baños

Jaidee P. Agne, Divine Grace C. Domingo, Joan I. Delomen, Leila S. Africa, PhD

32 Relationship of Personal Hygiene Score with Sex, Nutritional Status, Morbidity, and
Academic Grades among Primary Grade School Children in a Public Elementary
School in Pila, Laguna
Paul Alteo A. Bagabaldo, Marie Rose A. Bonifacio, Marjorie Anne A. Layosa, Ann C. Cayetano, Leila S. Africa, PhD

47 Development of a Valid and Reliable Questionnaire to Evaluate an Adult’s Knowledge,

Attitude, and Practices on Cholesterol Management
Diorella Marie M. Tria, MSc, Leila S. Africa, PhD, Aimee Sheree A. Barrion, PhD

56 Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices on Food Safety and Compliance to

Microbiological Safety Guidelines among Vendors of Commonly Patronized Street
Foods in Poblacion, Batangas City, Philippines
Myla A. Argente, Normahitta P. Gordoncillo, Leila S. Africa, PhD, Corazon VC. Barba, PhD, Josefina T. Dizon, PhD

71 Grain Quality of Milled Rice in Various Supermarkets in Dasmariñas City, Cavite

Arvin Paul P. Tuaño, Kristina Tamyl M. Lasam, Christian Jeshua M. Vicente

93 Producers’ Cooperative in Agro-eco-tourism Development: The Case of the Guimaras

Mango Growers and Producers Development Cooperative (GMGPDC) in Guimaras,
Philippines
Noe John Joseph E. Sacramento, Dhino B. Geges

114 A Study on Media Utilization and Preference for Food and Nutrition Information of
Selected College Students in the University of the Philippines Los Baños
Mayque Coleen T. Ladigohon , Marie Faye R. Nguyen-Orca, Joyce P. Parco
 Editor’s Note

Nobody was prepared for 2020. On March, the World Health Organization rung the alarm that the COVID-19
outbreak has reached the pandemic level. The events that followed were unprecedented. Hospitals were
overwhelmed as cases and deaths continued to rise steeply. Lockdowns and travel restrictions were
employed in every major city and country worse hit by the virus causing major disruptions in the economy
and society as a whole.

The pandemic meant many things for different sectors in our society. For many, it meant loss of jobs and
livelihoods as businesses and other commercial activities dwindled during this time. While not everybody
was significantly impacted economically, everyone was affected emotionally and psychologically as
different stressors emerged during the prolonged lockdown period. For the youth, education and learning
continued to be confronted with challenges, as face to face classes were prohibited and schools resorted
to remote learning. As for our planet, the earth seems to ‘breathe’ and get a break from stress caused by
human activities which was halted by the pandemic.

For us in human ecology, this pandemic emphasized the need for society to understand and pay attention
to complex human-environment relationships that continued to affect us, for better or worse. While the
original source of the viral transmission to humans remains unclear, it was evident that human activities,
particularly engagement in wildlife trade, played a key role for this transmission to occur. Future actions to
prevent another pandemic similar to this from happening depends on how well we understand this human-
environment relationship.

Individually, this pandemic put aside the clutter in our lives and brought to the forefront things that really
matter—our families, social relationships, our health and well-being. It is on this note that we would like to
share with you the 2020 issue of the Journal of Human Ecology. Most of the articles focused on nutrition
and food safety which will give us insights on how we can improve our well-being amidst this global health
crisis.

Enjoy reading the Journal of Human Ecology. And as we have become accustomed to saying, keep safe
everyone!

Cheamson Garret K. Boongaling, EnP, MSc

Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Human Ecology
January-December 2020
 Journal of Human Ecology
ISSN 2244-0607

Working towards the development of human ecology theories and practices in the Philippines and the world

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Issue No. 9 128

Issue No. 9 129