Since the democratic transition, South Africa has come a long way in paving a path that enables citizens to take advantage of education. Within universities, certain overlooked socio-economic and food security factors affect academic performance. The prevalence of food insecurity and factors affecting academic performance was investigated in the context of underperforming first year students. A mixed methodology was used where questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used to collect in depth information. The individual dietary diversity score (IDDS) and household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) were used to assess the severity of food insecurity. Fifty-three per cent of students came from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds characterised by unemployed parents and a high dependency on government grants. Twenty per cent of students regularly send remittances home, diverted from their scholarships/ bursaries and study loans thus leaving little for students to survive on. HFIAS results showed majority of students were food insecure as 80% experienced anxiety about food availability and accessibility and 54% had periods of complete inaccessibility to food. The majority of students proved to lack skills in grocery listing and financial management skills. Affordability and storage facility challenges led to students consuming nutritionally poor foods which compromised their health status. The IDDS showed 92% of students consumed bread, rice and maize; 70% ate foods with high levels of sugar, 71% ate foods made with oil, fat or butter; 66% ate meat; 58% ate vegetables, 50% ate fruits. This showed students’ diet is lacking in diversity as they resort to rich, energy-dense and cheap foods found at cheap prices. This robbed students of essential nutrients. Students who lived in university-owned residences were at higher risk of food insecurity. A significant proportion of study participants had substandard secondary school education. The shift in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) created challenges evident in lack of classroom engagement and lack of efficiency in communicating answers in tests and exams. Student accommodation and its proximity to learning facilities also affected performance negatively. The study therefore recommends, among other things, that university-owned residences reintroduce and/or subsidize dining halls to increase food accessibility, availability, quality, quantity and dietary diversity challenges. Food coupons could be introduced to low socio-economic students to purchase food from supporting grocery stores. Mandatory attendance of first year students to specialized programs organized by faculties and Student Counseling Centre to improve preparedness of students is needed. The UKZN LoLT policy needs to be implemented effectively so that the performance of second and third language speakers is improved. Translated material and academics who can speak the main local language is encouraged. The use code-switching techniques for the benefit of second and third language speakers are also encouraged when academics can use the main language. / Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Masters Degree of Applied Science in Food and Nutrition, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Introduction: Food vending is becoming a very important and a useful service. Moreover, socioeconomic factors and lifestyle changes forces customers to buy food from street vendors. Since the food industry is growing worldwide, good hygiene practices coupled with food safety standards is of vital importance. Currently there is inadequate information or scientific data on the microbiological quality and safety of vended foods in South Africa more especially in Durban. To date limited research has been conducted on the food handlers (FH’s) operating as food vendors in different areas of Durban, and a lack of documented evidence about the knowledge that food vendors have on food safety and food hygiene has resulted in the interest in this research. Aim: The aim of this study was to ascertain food hygiene practices and knowledge, food safety practices and the nutritional value of the food served by various food vendors at DUT in Durban. Method: A total number of 15 food vending stalls (comprising of 15 managers and 39 food handlers) situated within the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Durban campuses participated in the study. The study was conducted on all food vendors who prepared and served food items on site. Data collected was of a quantitative nature with two sets of questionnaires (Managers questionnaires and (FH’s) questionnaires), observation sheets to observe FH’s during food preparation and cleanliness, and weighing and recording of menu items prepared and served in order to determine portion sizes and the nutritional content. All the administration of data was completed by the researcher on a Microsoft Excel spread sheet and analysed on the SPSS software version 20. Recording and weighing of menu items was done using an electronic food portion scale. A statistician was consulted to assist in the interpretation of the data. Results: The majority (66.67%) of vendors were females with the educational level that was fairly high, (73.33%) had secondary education. Most of the respondents (80.00%) had been in the food vending business for more than 3 years. The availability of proper infrastructure was poor, 40.00% of the vendors obtained running water from the kitchen taps within the stalls and 60.00% obtained water from a communal sink tap outside the food stalls. Most vending stalls 66.67% had no proper storage facilities; perishable stock was stored on refrigerators, while non-perishable food items were stored on built-in shelves, on top of fridges, on the floor, in storage containers, and on tables due to shortage of space. Thirty three percent of the vendors had designated storerooms for non – perishable items. Food preparation and cooking space was very minimal as a result the researcher observed that in some stalls white and red meat was grilled in the same griller and that increases the chances of cross-contamination. The researcher also observed that the area where most of the vending stalls were situated had no shelter and paving, as a result during food preparation and service, food was exposed to dust, air pollution and flying insects. Most managers 73.33% and FH’s 56.41% attended hygiene and food safety training but observational findings indicated that important hygiene practises such as washing of hands before serving food were not practised. Another concerning observation regarding personal hygiene was that students did not wash hands prior to eating food despite the availability of tap water within the dining area. The majority of managers had contracts with suppliers, and grocery items were mainly purchased from wholesale stores, meat items from formal retailers. A large number of managers 73.33% bought and delivered perishable products themselves using own cars, while 13.33% used refrigerated trucks from the suppliers for the delivery of perishable goods. In that way delivery temperature of food items was not monitored and maintained. The nutritional value of food served by vendors was imbalanced with the majority of the meals exceeding the recommended energy contribution from fat of 15–30%, the carbohydrates (CHO) contribution was lesser than the stipulated percentage of 55-75%, and the mean energy contribution of protein was within the recommended percentage of 10-15%. The mean energy contribution made by fat in all meals was higher than the recommended percentage 15-30%, with the highest contribution of 63.59% and the lowest of 34.12%. High fat meals were of great concern as prospects of cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart diseases were high. The CHO content of meals was below the stipulated percentage of 55- 75% with the maximum percentage of 49.86% and the minimum of 31.04%. The mean energy contribution of protein was 15.36% which was generally within the recommended percentage of 10- 15%. Furthermore, the study revealed that out of the 12 881 kJ recommended for men and 10 093 kJ for females; male students on an average were consuming approximately 14% more kJ than recommended, and female students were consuming approximately 27% more kJ than recommended from the meals. Frequent consumption of such high energy meals can lead to overweight and obesity among young adults. Conclusion: The results of the study revealed the urgent need for basic infrastructure such as a decent food kiosk with adequate working space, proper washing and storage facilities to improve food safety and hygienic practices. Even though food vendors claimed to have received hygiene training, knowledge attained was not effectively practiced or demonstrated; and that placed students at risk of foodborne illnesses. Furthermore, the nutritional value of food served by vendors was imbalanced with the majority of the meals exceeding the recommended energy contribution from fat of 15–30% and the CHO contribution being lesser than the stipulated percentage of 55-75%. Recommendations: Extensive training programme and regular supervision should be put in place by management of the Institution to ensure that proper hygiene practices are in place and also to ensure the quality of food served to students is of acceptable standard. All vending stalls to be provided with basic infrastructure. Food court yard to be well sheltered to avoid food being contaminated by air pollution, dust and pests. DUT management, together with the Department of Health, should organise nutrition awareness programmes to enlighten students about the dangers of unhealthy eating habits. / M

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Applied Science in Food and Nutrition, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / There is a lack of information and research on nutrition content in the curriculum for learners at the secondary school level. While nutrition content is addressed in the curriculum for Grades 8 and 9 in Natural Science, Social Science and Life Orientation, not all aspects of nutrition education are included. In Grades 10 to 12, nutrition content exists in Life Orientation, Agricultural Science, Agricultural Technology, Design Studies, Civil Technology, Electrical Technology, Mechanical Technology, Dance Studies, Information Technology, Consumer Studies and Hospitality Studies, however, not all learners are exposed to the learning areas that contain nutrition content. An important consequence of this lack of exposure to information on nutrition content is that learners who leave school after Grade 12 with inadequate nutrition knowledge potentially become adults who suffer from lifestyle diseases. This study focused on the nutrition content in the curriculum in Grades 8–12 in Kwa-Zulu-Natal in order to: evaluate the content in the curriculum referring to nutrition and to analyse the critical and developmental outcomes of nutrition education;. assess the nutrition knowledge of learners in Grades 8–12 in the Durban Central area (for the purpose of following a healthy lifestyle); determine the views of educators on the inclusion of nutrition content in the curriculum; highlight the importance of applying nutrition content in the curriculum to educate learners on disease prevention and good eating habits. The design of the study was evaluative, analytical and descriptive, and adopted both the quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The purposive sampling method was utilised for the selection of sample. The study was located in Central Durban and the sample comprised of boys and girls in Grades eight–12 at Durban High School and Ridge Park College, respectively. The sample included 343 boys and 360 girls who participated in the study. In order to establish the views of educators who teach nutrition knowledge in the curriculum, the study also included 134 educators purposively selected from 15 schools in the Umlazi District in KwaZulu-Natal. Two sets of instruments were used for data collection. The Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (NKQ)(previously developed) was used to determine the nutrition knowledge of learners in Grades eight–12 and across genders in both schools. An Educator Questionnaire (EQ) (developed for the study) on the learning areas that contained nutrition content was utilised to measure the extent to which the educators teaching those learning areas completed the curriculum content on nutrition. The Educator Questionnaire was used to ascertain the educators’ views on the importance of nutrition knowledge. The results of the research showed that the content dealing with nutrition in the school curriculum for Grades eight–12 was inadequate in certain learning areas to adequately educate learners on nutrition for the purpose of following a healthy lifestyle. The compulsory learning areas that contain aspects of nutrition knowledge were Life Orientation, Natural Science and Social Science for Grades eight and nine. In Grades10 to 12, Life Orientation is the only compulsory learning area that contains aspects of nutrition knowledge content. Nutrition knowledge investigation showed that learners are not adequately prepared in respect of all aspects of nutrition knowledge when they leave school at the end of Grade 12. The curriculum analysis of the learning areas in Grades 10 to 12 showed that the learning areas that contain nutrition knowledge are specialist learning areas not offered at all schools in the Durban Central area. The Educator Questionnaires showed that learning areas that include nutrition content in Grades 10 to 12 are not offered at all schools, thus probably negatively impacting on the learners’ level of nutrition content. The results of the Educator Questionnaire reinforced the notion that the curriculum for nutrition education was inadequate. The research concluded that the curriculum does not prepare learners adequately in respect of all areas of nutrition knowledge to enable them to follow healthy lifestyles. The results revealed that there is a correlation between the nutrition knowledge of learners and certain nutrition education aspects in the curriculum. Such results showed that the total mean scores for all the Food Based Dietary Guidelines ranged from 62.0% as the lowest, to the highest total mean score of 72.0%. However, the scores are low in critical areas of nutrition knowledge when individual scores are taken into consideration. An important consequence is that learners who leave school at the end of Grade 12 with inadequate nutritional knowledge become adults with the potential to suffer from lifestyle diseases. It is recommended that a compulsory learning area for all grades that deals exclusively with health, physical education and nutrition be introduced into the curriculum to assist learners to follow healthy lifestyles during and after school. / M

Life and Consumer Sciences / M.A. (Consumer Science)