Grime Scene Investigation - Student Kitchens

What is the purpose of this research?
The aims of the research are to explore food safety and hygiene behaviours in the student population. So far in the student kitchens project, we have recruited students from across the UK to inform us of their experiences of shared student kitchen life. Following this, students have exposed the grimy reality of student kitchen life through photos of their fridges and sinks. That's where you come in: helping us identify what is really going on in these images.

What is the impact?

• Knowing more about this group will enable us to identify risky food behaviours, develop effective communications to address, and potentially foster long-term good food safety behaviours in a key cohort of people.
    - The insight and understanding from the research would provide an evidence base for policy, such as student specific communications to increase food safety knowledge and behaviours. e.g., FSS Food Safety Top Tips for the Student Kitchen.
• We developed a survey exploring food security, food safety behaviours and nutrition in the student population. This survey asked students to take a photo of the contents of the fridge and sink area in their accommodation (for you to help us with!).

Are any findings from the wider student kitchens project available?
Yes - we have recently published an interim report on the findings from the co-creation sessions and online survey. The report evidences some incredibly interesting findings on university students' experiences of food safety behaviours, challenges of shared kitchens and food insecurity in an under-researched demographic group. Click here to give it a read if you're interested!

Can my friends and family take part?
Yes, we are hoping for a wide range or participants from as many different backgrounds and countries as possible. Please help us by encouraging your friends and family to take part and spreading the word on social media!

Is this survey suitable for children and school groups?
Yes, this is a great way to learn about food safety and hygiene.

When can we expect to see the first results?
We hope to announce the first results in 2023.

Can I change my classification if I realized I did something wrong? Will it mess up the data?
You can go “Back” while in process and redo or re-assess your work. Once you click "Done" you can't change your response. However, don't worry about it! The images are seen by several people. If there is a mistake, your incorrect answer will be outweighed by people's correct answers or there will be enough discrepancy amongst answers that members of the research team will look at the images.

Am I able to choose what image I classify?
For quality assurance purposes, images are shown at random to volunteers. But you are able to choose between the Fridge and Sink workflows!