Western Australian Food Security Project
Background: The aim of the Western Australian (WA) Food Security Project was to conduct a preliminary investigation into issues relating to food security in one region within the Perth metropolitan area in Western Australia. The first phase of the project involved a food audit in one lower income ar...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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BioMed Central
2007
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46518 |
| _version_ | 1848757580917112832 |
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| author | McManus, Alexandra Brown, Graham Maycock, Bruce |
| author_facet | McManus, Alexandra Brown, Graham Maycock, Bruce |
| author_sort | McManus, Alexandra |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: The aim of the Western Australian (WA) Food Security Project was to conduct a preliminary investigation into issues relating to food security in one region within the Perth metropolitan area in Western Australia. The first phase of the project involved a food audit in one lower income area that was typical of the region, to identify the range, variety and availability of foods in the region. Methods: A comprehensive food audit survey was provided to all food outlet owners/operators in one lower socio-economic region within the City of Mandurah (n = 132 outlets). The purpose of the survey was to investigate the range, variety and availability of foods in the Mandurah region as well as examining specific in-store characteristics such as the types of clientele and in-store promotions offered. Surveys were competed for 99 outlets (response rate = 75%). Results: The range of foods available were predominantly pre-prepared with more than half of the outlets pre-preparing the majority of their food. Sandwiches and rolls were the most popular items sold in the outlets surveyed (n = 51 outlets) followed by pastries such as pies, sausage rolls and pasties (n = 33 outlets). Outlets considered their healthiest food options were sandwiches or rolls (n = 51 outlets), salads (n- = 50 outlets), fruit and vegetables (n = 40 outlets), seafood (n = 27 outlets), meats such as chicken (n = 26 outlets and hot foods such as curries, soups or quiches (n = 23 outlets). The majority of outlets surveyed considered pre-prepared food including sandwiches, rolls and salads, as healthy food options regardless of the content of the filling or dressings used. Few outlets (n = 28%) offered a choice of bread type other than white or wholemeal. High fat pastries and dressings were popular client choices (n = 77%) as were carbonated drinks (n = 88%) and flavoured milks (n = 46%). Conclusion: These findings clearly indicate the need for further investigation of the impact of access to quality, healthy foods at reasonable cost (food security) on public health, particularly in lower socio-economic areas. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:30:22Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-46518 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:30:22Z |
| publishDate | 2007 |
| publisher | BioMed Central |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-465182017-10-02T02:28:21Z Western Australian Food Security Project McManus, Alexandra Brown, Graham Maycock, Bruce Background: The aim of the Western Australian (WA) Food Security Project was to conduct a preliminary investigation into issues relating to food security in one region within the Perth metropolitan area in Western Australia. The first phase of the project involved a food audit in one lower income area that was typical of the region, to identify the range, variety and availability of foods in the region. Methods: A comprehensive food audit survey was provided to all food outlet owners/operators in one lower socio-economic region within the City of Mandurah (n = 132 outlets). The purpose of the survey was to investigate the range, variety and availability of foods in the Mandurah region as well as examining specific in-store characteristics such as the types of clientele and in-store promotions offered. Surveys were competed for 99 outlets (response rate = 75%). Results: The range of foods available were predominantly pre-prepared with more than half of the outlets pre-preparing the majority of their food. Sandwiches and rolls were the most popular items sold in the outlets surveyed (n = 51 outlets) followed by pastries such as pies, sausage rolls and pasties (n = 33 outlets). Outlets considered their healthiest food options were sandwiches or rolls (n = 51 outlets), salads (n- = 50 outlets), fruit and vegetables (n = 40 outlets), seafood (n = 27 outlets), meats such as chicken (n = 26 outlets and hot foods such as curries, soups or quiches (n = 23 outlets). The majority of outlets surveyed considered pre-prepared food including sandwiches, rolls and salads, as healthy food options regardless of the content of the filling or dressings used. Few outlets (n = 28%) offered a choice of bread type other than white or wholemeal. High fat pastries and dressings were popular client choices (n = 77%) as were carbonated drinks (n = 88%) and flavoured milks (n = 46%). Conclusion: These findings clearly indicate the need for further investigation of the impact of access to quality, healthy foods at reasonable cost (food security) on public health, particularly in lower socio-economic areas. 2007 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46518 10.1186/1471-2458-7-214 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ BioMed Central fulltext |
| spellingShingle | McManus, Alexandra Brown, Graham Maycock, Bruce Western Australian Food Security Project |
| title | Western Australian Food Security Project |
| title_full | Western Australian Food Security Project |
| title_fullStr | Western Australian Food Security Project |
| title_full_unstemmed | Western Australian Food Security Project |
| title_short | Western Australian Food Security Project |
| title_sort | western australian food security project |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46518 |