Objective To describe the concern about food safety when dining out among office workers from the main districts of Chongqing

which may provide reference for more effective regulation and more specific food safety education.Methods Based on 8 sites located in the main districts of Chongqing where office workers could be easily found

we conducted a survey by using a self-designed questionnaire on food safety when dining out.Data entry was done with EpiData 3.02

and descriptive statistical analysis

univariate analysis

and multiple linear regression analysis were performed using SPSS 17.0.Results The main concerns about food safety when dining out included stale food（68.5%）

use of non-edible oil for cooking（63.5%）

presence of foreign bodies in the food（49.1%）

risk of developing infectious disease（49.0%）

unsterilized tableware（45.3%）

abuse of food additives（40.9%）

food poisoning（38.4%）

pesticide and veterinary drug residues（37.3%）

and smelly food（27.2%）.Compared with males

more females were concerned about the presence of foreign bodies in the food

stale food

and pesticide and veterinary drug residues（P<0.05）.The proportions of interviewees who had concerns about the presence of foreign bodies in the food

smelly food

and risk of developing infectious disease in the 18-39 age group were significantly higher than those in the 40-60 age group（P<0.05）.When answering the questionnaire

females scored higher than males（P<0.05）;18 to 39-year-old interviewees scored higher than 40 to 60-year-old interviewees（P<0.05）;and well-educated interviewees scored higher than poorly-educated interviewees（P<0.05）.Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the score of the dining out questionnaire varied significantly with gender and educational background（P<0.05）.Conclusion Most office workers from the main districts of Chongqing had several concerns about food safety when dining out.Relevant government agencies should strengthen regulation of the catering industry

and meanwhile the catering industry should pay serious attention to these food safety concerns.Besides

it is also important to enhance food safety education among males

middle-aged and elderly people

as well as poorly-educated population

so as to improve their awareness of food safety and reduce the potential risk associated with food safety when dining out.