scholarly journals Consumer Protection and Food Safety in Greece: Sanctions imposed by Hellenic Food Authority, in the years 2005-2013

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 965
Author(s):  
G. GRINTZALI ◽  
E. PEXARA ◽  
V. CARAYANNI ◽  
G. BOSKOU
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Competent Authority ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Official Control ◽  
Pearson Coefficient ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Haccp System ◽  
Good Hygiene

The enforcement of food safety legislation consists of a number of procedures, that may lead in certaincases in imposing administrative penalties and fines, in an effort to alter the nonconformity status of certain food establishments, according to the predefined legislative standards. The aim of this study is to evaluate data upon nonconformity of food establishments in Greece, in order to define trends and frequencies in the general framework of food safety and consumer protection. Hellenic Food Authority (EFET), the competent authority for food safety in Greece, during the period 2005-2013, imposed fines to food establishments that mount to 17,513,900€ for food safety violations. Most of the fines were imposed at mass catering establishments (21.6%) followed by supermarkets (16.2%), food industry (15.1%) and food manufacture establishments (10.7%). Moreover Attica Prefecture is the region with the highest, in number, imposed fines (32.4%), followed in descending order by the Prefecture of Central Makedonia (31.5%) and of Crete (9.6%). Significant difference, in imposing fines (χ2 test, p≤0.05), was observed between mass catering establishments and violations concerning: i. Good Hygiene Practice (GHP) ii. infrastructure, iii. consumer misleading, iv. sale of unsuitable foods, v. preservation temperatures, vi. lack of food handlers training in food safety, vii. lack of food handlers booklet and viii. traceability systems. Moreover significant differences were observed between the level of the imposed fine and the type of violations (t-test, p≤0.05) concerning: i. only or and GHP, ii. only or and the sale of unsafe foods and iii. only or and issues of consumer misleading. According to Pearson coefficient there is a weak negative although significant (p≤0.001) correlation between years and the level of the imposed fines (r=- 0.079). In addition violations related to HACCP system, that resulted in imposing fines to food establishments by EFET in 2012, corresponded to 31.8% of the total delinquency concerning HACCP system ascertained by the Prefectural Directorates, that are in charge of official control in the field of food hygiene.

scholarly journals Assessment of Hygiene Conditions in Sudanese Airlines Catering at Khartoum International Airport

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Rania Mohammed Osman Hamid ◽  
Sumia Mohammed Ahmed Khalil
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Bacterial Count ◽  
Plate Count ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
International Airport ◽  
Hygiene Practices ◽  
Hygiene Measures ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Knowledge And Practice

Background: Food safety has been recognized as a matter of importance to the airlines industry and airports must have the capacity to ensure a safe environment for passengers using point of entry facilities, including flight catering and other potential risks. The risk of food getting contaminated depends largely on the knowledge and practice of proper food hygiene measures among food handlers. The study aimed to assess the hygiene conditions in airlines catering services units at Khartoum Airport; to evaluate the level of knowledge and practice of food handlers towards food hygiene in addition to identify the microbial load on food handler’s hands.Methodology: Four airlines catering services units at Khartoum International Airport were studied. The data were collected by using structured questionnaire to assess food handler's knowledge onfood hygiene and their practices including 100 samples (56 samples from catering 1, 22 catering 2, 12 catering 3 and 10 samples from catering 4). Observational check list was used to assess the physical characteristics and hygienic situation in airlines catering premises and food handlers. Microbiological examinations used for Total Plate Count (TPC), isolate and identification Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and salmonella. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 16.0).Results: The study showed that 56% of food handlers have higher secondary school certificate, 83% of food handlers knew causative agent of food borne disease,72% knew when washed their work surfaces and 72% knew how to care with open lesions during food handling. Analysis showed significant difference (p=0.023) between respondents’ knowledge and their educational level. More than half (58%) of food handlers did not report during illness; only 42% received training in food hygiene. seventy five percent of the catering managers were not trained on food safety management system. There was statistically significant difference between trained (professional) handlers and non-trained handlers with regard to food hygiene practices (P =0.038). Fifty percent of catering premises were in bad situation (ventilation, cleaning, lightening, pest control) and poor hand washing facilities; only 25% of these catering have quality control system. The highest bacterial count from the hands samples was 8.5x106 CFU /mland the lowest 1.2x106 CFU /ml; 54.5% of sample tested positive for E. coli; 72.7% for S. aureus and 36.6% for salmonella from food handler’s hands.Conclusion: This study revealed poor sanitary conditions in airlines catering, and poor food hygiene practices of some handlers indicating higher probability of food being contaminated before service. The occurrence of indicator microorganisms in most of the hand samples indicating a need for improvement in the environment hygiene and sanitary facilities. The study recommends hygiene education to improve the knowledge and practices of food handlers.

scholarly journals Mediating Effect of Preventive Measures on Food Safety Knowledge and Food Hygiene Practices

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Saidatul Afzan Abdul Aziz ◽  
Hayati Mohd Dahan
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Safety Knowledge

Food borne diseases represent a persistent public health problem in developed and developing countries. This study investigates if preventive measures mediate the relationship between food safety knowledge among food handlers and their food handling behaviours. Data is gathered from a sample of 300 food handlers attached to school canteens in four zones in Peninsular Malaysia. Using Amos 22.0, the finding indicates that there is partial mediation effect. As such, this research emphasizes the importance of preventive measure in food service operation which is critical to food hygiene training program as this may result in exhibited behavioural change in safe food handling.Keywords: Food safety knowledge, Food handlers, Preventive measures, Food hygiene practiceseISSN 2398-4295 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. http://dx.doi.org/10.21834/ajbes.v3i11.108

Integrated Approach Across Prerequisite Programmes and Actions Based on the HACCP Principles A

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 6051-2018
Author(s):  
AGNIESZKA JACKOWSKA-TRACZ ◽  
MICHAŁ TRACZ ◽  
KRZYSZTOF ANUSZ
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Control Points ◽  
Underlying Assumption ◽  
Critical Control Points ◽  
Official Control ◽  
Private Standards ◽  
Haccp System ◽  
Medium Risk

Food business operators are required to implement and maintain a system based on the HACCP principles. The HACCP is the only food safety management system, the implementation of which is obligatory. The standards laid down by the Codex Alimentarius Commission serve as benchmarks not only for the obligatory implementation of the HACCP system principles, but also for private standards such as ISO, IFS or BRC. A voluntary implementation of private standards may lead to a wrong assumption that food companies do not necessarily have to, but only may comply with the guidelines laid down by the implemented standard. The HACCP system guarantees no absolute food safety in and of itself. The underlying assumption of the HACCP system is that high-risk hazards should be controlled with the use of CCPs. It is impossible to identify critical control points in all enterprises. In certain food businesses, there are exclusively medium-risk or low-risk hazards that may be controlled with OPRPs or PRPs, respectively. The awareness on the role of critical control points and prerequisite programmes in the producer's efforts to prevent or eliminate hazards, or to reduce them to acceptable levels is a key for performing a comprehensive supervision. During the performance of an official control, instead of focusing exclusively on the HACCP procedures, it is reasonable to apply an integrated approach comprising both prerequisite programmes and the HACCP principles..

scholarly journals Salmonella, Food Safety and Food Handling Practices

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 907
Author(s):  
Olugbenga Ehuwa ◽  
Amit K. Jaiswal ◽  
Swarna Jaiswal
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Gastrointestinal Disorder ◽  
Meat Processing ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Official Control ◽  
Vegetable Products ◽  
Global Epidemiology ◽  
Handling Practices ◽  
Food Handling Practices ◽  
The Eu

Salmonellosis is the second most reported gastrointestinal disorder in the EU resulting from the consumption of Salmonella-contaminated foods. Symptoms include gastroenteritis, abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhoea, fever, myalgia, headache, nausea and vomiting. In 2018, Salmonella accounted for more than half of the numbers of foodborne outbreak illnesses reported in the EU. Salmonella contamination is mostly associated with produce such as poultry, cattle and their feeds but other products such as dried foods, infant formula, fruit and vegetable products and pets have become important. Efforts aimed at controlling Salmonella are being made. For example, legislation and measures put in place reduced the number of hospitalizations between 2014 and 2015. However, the number of hospitalizations started to increase in 2016. This calls for more stringent controls at the level of government and the private sector. Food handlers of “meat processing” and “Ready to Eat” foods play a crucial role in the spread of Salmonella. This review presents an updated overview of the global epidemiology, the relevance of official control, the disease associated with food handlers and the importance of food safety concerning salmonellosis.

scholarly journals Food Safety Knowledge of Food Sanitation Hygiene Practices in the Era of Pandemic COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Dwi Yunita Haryanti ◽  
Yeni Suryaningsih
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Food Handler ◽  
P Value ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Community Monitoring ◽  
The Impact

Background and Objectives: Food hygiene and sanitation in various food industries or processed food service providers requires special attention from the government during this pandemic, where the sector remains a necessity for the entire community. Monitoring and evaluation are urgently needed in order to break the chain of transmission and eliminate the risk of contamination of food during processing or during packaging. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between knowledge and food hygiene and sanitation practices at public facilities providing processed food.Methods: This research is an observational study using a cross sectional design. The population in this study is the food service industry of class A2 and A3. Determination of respondents in this study was done by purposive sampling. The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire from FAO related to policies regarding the impact of COVID-19 on food safety and nutrition.Results: The results showed that the knowledge of the majority of food handler and presenters was 18 (47.4%) and the application of food hygiene and sanitation was also low 28 (73.8%). Food handlers and presenters with good knowledge have better compliance in implementing food hygiene and sanitation compared to food handlers and presenters who have sufficient and less knowledge (p value 0.05).Conclusions and Implications: Low knowledge of food handlers and presenters is known to be one of the factors not implementing food hygiene and sanitation so that it has the potential to increase the spread of the SAR-CoV-2 virus. One strategy that can be done is to provide continuous socialization and education through various mass media using a cultural approach. Keywords: Hygiene; Sanitation; Food; Pandemic.

scholarly journals FOOD HYGIENE AND SAFETY PRACTICES OF FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 794-797
Author(s):  
Jamie Ann Tamano Dollentas RN LPT ◽  
◽  
Fely Antes Habla , EdD ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Food Storage ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
Regulatory Structure ◽  
Safety Practices ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Safe Food

Everyone has anequal right to adequate, appropriate,nutritious, and safe food but along with this right comes a great responsibility which is to ensure food safety for all. Republic Act 10611 otherwise known as the Food Safety Act of 2013 was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino to strengthen the countrys food regulatory structure. It primarily adheres to the declaration of the Philippine constitution to safeguard and promote the right of the people to health and keep them from risk of trade mismanagement as well as hazardous and unsafe products. The law affirms food safety as a vital componentof nation-building to facilitate healthy economy, system, community, and people. On the other hand, altered food safety and security hampers economic development by straining the health care systems, weakening productivity, and damaging the economy.It istherefore imperative to realize the significance of food safety to attain a nationssustainable advancement. Nonetheless, there has been less evidence on the status of food hygiene and safety practices of food establishments.Mainly, this study aimed to determine the food hygiene and safety practices of food establishments. Inparticular,it answered the assessment of the respondents on food hygiene practices of the food establishments along personal hygiene, food preparation practices, safe food storage, andutensils and equipment. Likewise, it identified the food safety practices as perceived by the same groups of respondents in terms of food handling, physical condition, food management system, and health standards implementation. It also investigated if there is a significant difference between the perspectives of the respondents as well as the problems encountered by food establishments. To attain the purpose of this study, a survey type of research was conducted employing a survey-questionnaire as the main instrument in data gathering.

scholarly journals Safe Food Handling Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Food Handlers in Hospital Kitchen

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daru Lestantyo ◽  
Adi Heru Husodo ◽  
Susi Iravati ◽  
Zahroh Shaluhiyah
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Hospital ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Food Handling ◽  
Attitude And Practice ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Safe Food ◽  
Knowledge Attitude And Practice

Hospital food hygiene plays an important role to patient's health. Studies proved that improper practices and lack of knowledge are contributing factors of foodborne diseases. This study was conducted to determine knowledge, attitude and practice of hospital safe food handling in Semarang, Central Java. A cross sectional study was conducted in two general hospitals' kitchen. Data were collected from 60 food handlers through validated questionnaire. Respondents were grouped into two categories: a. Teaching Hospital, and b.Non-teaching Hospital. Data were collected in February-April 2017. Most of food handlers (80%) were graduated from vocational senior high school (SMK). Respondent's age were 28-37 years (36.7%) in average. Most of respondent‟s work experience (85%) was less than 15 years. The result showed that more than 80% of food handlers have good knowledge in safe food handling procedures, good attitude (66%) and good practices (90%). There was no significant difference of knowledge, attitude and practices between two groups. Results strongly emphasize the need of food hygiene training of hospital food handlers. It also suggest that non food handlers such as nurse or kitchen supervisor should involved in the training. Some aspects of food handlers' safety behavior need to be emphasized.

Impact of Nutrition Education Interventions on Knowledge Attitude and Practice of Food Hygiene and Food Safety Habits of Food Handlers from various Food Service Establishments

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Attitude And Practice ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
Education Interventions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Knowledge Attitude And Practice

Food-borne illnesses have a dramatic impact in both developing and developed countries. The health status of the food handlers, their personal hygiene, knowledge and practice of food hygiene play an important role in food contamination. The aim of this review is to study the impact of nutrition education interventions on knowledge attitude and practice of food hygiene and food safety habits of food handlers from various food service establishments. Two hundred and fourty eight food handlers were selected by simple random sampling method from various food service establishments were involved in the study. A pretest posttest experimental design was employed among randomly selected food handlers to study the impact of nutrition education intervention on food safety and hygiene knowledge attitude and practice of food handlers. Significant increase in the knowledge attitude and practice of food safety and hygiene among food handlers were observed after nutrition education. The study shows that nutrition education is the need of the hour which would help food handlers to imbibe food safety and hygiene knowledge attitude and practice to prevent transmission of food-borne pathogens to the public during food preparation.

scholarly journals Food Safety and Sanitation Implementation Impasse on Adolescents in Kenyan High Schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1304
Author(s):  
Csaba Bálint Illés ◽  
Anna Dunay ◽  
Charlotte Serrem ◽  
Bridget Atubukha ◽  
Kevin Serrem
Keyword(s):  
High Schools ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Contamination ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Food Handlers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
School Feeding ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Training Motivation

The ability to combat food-borne illnesses in food facilities and institutional catering units require sufficient knowledge on food safety and sanitation standards by food producers and consumers. The aim of the study was to investigate the food safety and sanitation knowledge of food handlers in Kenyan high schools. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 204 food handlers in 50 schools. Questions about knowledge and practice toward food safety and sanitation were asked. Respondents were the most knowledgeable on food contamination (93%), while participants were the least knowledgeable on the importance of protective attire when distributing foods to learners (50%). One-way ANOVA revealed a significant difference between gender and food handlers’ behavior and practice (F = 19.886, ρ = 0.00 < 0.05) as well as between job tenure and practice of food safety and sanitation (F = 17.874, ρ = 0.00 < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis established that knowledge contributed to 44.1% of the behavior and practice of the food handlers. It is concluded that food handlers have a fair knowledge despite lack of training, motivation, and facilities to maintain quality standards. It is recommended that the Kenyan Government develop and implement guidelines through school feeding policy that would ensure that food safety and sanitation practices are implemented and utilized by Kenyan high schools.

scholarly journals European standards of food safety and consumer protection

2020 ◽  
pp. 128-134
Author(s):  
T.A. Kobzeva ◽  
A.O. Ivanov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
European Market ◽  
Consumer Policy ◽  
General Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Haccp System ◽  
European Standards ◽  
High Level

In this work, the authors explored the concepts of «consumption» and «consumer» in the context of food safety and consumer protection. It also set out the main objectives of European consumer policy and the ways in which they can be implemented. Based on an analysis of European legislation aimed at ensuring the health, economic and legal interests of consumers, it was determined how the European Union provides a general level of legal protection in the field of consumer policy. The authors found that each member state of the European Union has an obligation to implement generally accepted norms and standards in national law, in order to ensure a high level of protection of the rights of its citizens in the consumer sphere. In addition, the article provides an explanation of the terms «food safety» and «safe food», as well as identifies the main factors for maintaining food safety for the human body. The authors analyzed the concepts, purpose and role of European standardization in the context of consolidation of the united European market; the concepts of «standard» and «European standard» are explored, as well as the main ways of their creation and use. This article also outlines the legal status of the European Committee for Standardization, its key areas of activity and its impact on the European market. In addition, the process of creating a series of international ISO standards was investigated and its purpose established. Much attention was paid to the EU-wide HACCP system, its features and benefits. The GFSI International Standards and Certification System and its individual representatives were characterized, including the Food Safety System Certification 22000 (FSSC 22000), the British Retail Consortium Global Standard for Food Safety (BRCGS) and the International Food Standard (IFS). Requirements for implementation of these standards, their purpose, features and advantages were also identified. The authors found that in order to ensure a high level of consumer protection, it is advisable to simultaneously implement several European standards, along with the HACCP system, the most appropriate of which were proposed in the article presented.

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