Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food Handlers
Institutional foodborne illness outbreaks continue to hit the headlines in the country, indicating the failure of food handlers to adhere to safe practices during food preparation. Thus, this study aimed to compare the knowledge, attitude, and self-reported practices (KAP) of food safety assessment...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2017-01-01
|
Series: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/1/55 |
id |
doaj-fbe3f5f1c9d14ccf94bcf717e1182df3 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-fbe3f5f1c9d14ccf94bcf717e1182df32020-11-24T22:53:47ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012017-01-011415510.3390/ijerph14010055ijerph14010055Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food HandlersHui Key Lee0Hishamuddin Abdul Halim1Kwai Lin Thong2Lay Ching Chai3Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, MalaysiaOccupational Safety & Health Unit, Registrar’s Department, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, MalaysiaInstitute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, MalaysiaInstitute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, MalaysiaInstitutional foodborne illness outbreaks continue to hit the headlines in the country, indicating the failure of food handlers to adhere to safe practices during food preparation. Thus, this study aimed to compare the knowledge, attitude, and self-reported practices (KAP) of food safety assessment and microbiological assessment of food handlers’ hands as an indicator of hygiene practices in food premises. This study involved 85 food handlers working in a university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The food safety KAP among food handlers (n = 67) was assessed using a questionnaire; while the hand swabs (n = 85) were tested for the total aerobic count, coliforms, and Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The food handlers had moderate levels of food safety knowledge (61.7%) with good attitude (51.9/60) and self-reported practices (53.2/60). It is noteworthy that the good self-reported practices were not reflected in the microbiological assessment of food handlers’ hands, in which 65% of the food handlers examined had a total aerobic count ≥20 CFU/cm2 and Salmonella was detected on 48% of the food handlers’ hands. In conclusion, the suggestion of this study was that the food handlers had adequate food safety knowledge, but perceived knowledge failed to be translated into practices at work.http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/1/55food safetyfood handlerKAPmicrobiological assessmenthand hygiene |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Hui Key Lee Hishamuddin Abdul Halim Kwai Lin Thong Lay Ching Chai |
spellingShingle |
Hui Key Lee Hishamuddin Abdul Halim Kwai Lin Thong Lay Ching Chai Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food Handlers International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health food safety food handler KAP microbiological assessment hand hygiene |
author_facet |
Hui Key Lee Hishamuddin Abdul Halim Kwai Lin Thong Lay Ching Chai |
author_sort |
Hui Key Lee |
title |
Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food Handlers |
title_short |
Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food Handlers |
title_full |
Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food Handlers |
title_fullStr |
Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food Handlers |
title_full_unstemmed |
Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food Handlers |
title_sort |
assessment of food safety knowledge, attitude, self-reported practices, and microbiological hand hygiene of food handlers |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2017-01-01 |
description |
Institutional foodborne illness outbreaks continue to hit the headlines in the country, indicating the failure of food handlers to adhere to safe practices during food preparation. Thus, this study aimed to compare the knowledge, attitude, and self-reported practices (KAP) of food safety assessment and microbiological assessment of food handlers’ hands as an indicator of hygiene practices in food premises. This study involved 85 food handlers working in a university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The food safety KAP among food handlers (n = 67) was assessed using a questionnaire; while the hand swabs (n = 85) were tested for the total aerobic count, coliforms, and Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The food handlers had moderate levels of food safety knowledge (61.7%) with good attitude (51.9/60) and self-reported practices (53.2/60). It is noteworthy that the good self-reported practices were not reflected in the microbiological assessment of food handlers’ hands, in which 65% of the food handlers examined had a total aerobic count ≥20 CFU/cm2 and Salmonella was detected on 48% of the food handlers’ hands. In conclusion, the suggestion of this study was that the food handlers had adequate food safety knowledge, but perceived knowledge failed to be translated into practices at work. |
topic |
food safety food handler KAP microbiological assessment hand hygiene |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/1/55 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT huikeylee assessmentoffoodsafetyknowledgeattitudeselfreportedpracticesandmicrobiologicalhandhygieneoffoodhandlers AT hishamuddinabdulhalim assessmentoffoodsafetyknowledgeattitudeselfreportedpracticesandmicrobiologicalhandhygieneoffoodhandlers AT kwailinthong assessmentoffoodsafetyknowledgeattitudeselfreportedpracticesandmicrobiologicalhandhygieneoffoodhandlers AT laychingchai assessmentoffoodsafetyknowledgeattitudeselfreportedpracticesandmicrobiologicalhandhygieneoffoodhandlers |
_version_ |
1725661837362462720 |