Food Safety Practices and Associated Factors among Food Handlers of Fiche Town, North Shewa Zone, Ethiopia

Background. Foodborne diseases remain a major public health problem globally, but the problem is severe in developing countries like Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to assess food safety practices and associated factors among food handlers of Fiche town. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 food handlers working in food and drink establishments. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire and observational checklist. Data were entered and coded into SPSS for analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the predictor variables associated with the practice of food handlers ( p < 0.05 ). Result. 61.6% of food handlers knew the potential risk of contaminating food with dirty hands, and 70% washed hands with soap before working with food. 52.8% of food handlers covered the hair with restraints. 66.8% of food handlers used outer garments, and the majority of food handlers (71.1%) had a trimmed fingernail. Two hundred thirteen (50.5%) of food handlers had good food handling practices. Medical checkup (AOR = 3.16; 95% CI 1.89, 5.26), sanitary inspection (AOR = 1.76; 95% CI 1.16, 2.69), knowledge (AOR = 2.31; 95% CI 1.53, 3.48), service year (AOR = 3.11; 95% CI 1.53, 6.31), and educational status (AOR = 3.42, 95% CI 1.29, 9.04) were found to be significantly associated with food handling practices. Conclusion. The food handlers should take various training concerning food hygiene and safety to enhance their knowledge and practice. Regular sanitary inspection of food and drink establishments is recommended.

Food Handling Concerns and Practices at-Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic by Food Security Status

There is limited examination about COVID-19-related food handling concerns and practices that cause chemical or microbial contamination and illness, particularly among those with food insecurity. We investigated consumer food handling concerns and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether they differed by food insecurity status. An online survey was distributed among Chicago, Illinois residents between July 15-August 21, 2020 (N=437). Independent t-tests and Fisher’s Exact tests were used to identify differences in food handling concerns and practices between those with and without food insecurity (alpha=0.05). Survey items included questions about food handling practices that were considered safe or neutral (i.e., washing hands and produce with water, sanitizing food packaging) and unsafe (i.e., using cleaning agents to wash foods, leaving perishable foods outside) using 5-point Likert-style scales or categorical responses (i.e., yes, no). Participant responses fell between “slightly” and “somewhat” concerned about contracting COVID-19 from food and food packaging (mean ± SE: 2.7±0.1). While participants reported washing their hands before eating and preparing foods at least “most of the time” (mean ± SE: 4.4 ± 0.0 and 4.5 ± 0.0, respectively), only one-third engaged in unsafe practices. The majority of participants (68%) indicated that they altered food handling practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic and received information about food safety from social media (61%). When investigating differences in concerns and practices by food insecurity status, food insecure participants were more concerned about COVID-19 foodborne transmission for all food items (ps&lt;0.0001) and more frequently performed unsafe based food handling practices than those with food security (ps&lt;0.0001). Results from this study suggest more investigation is needed to understand barriers to safe food handling knowledge and practices, particularly among those with food insecurity.

Food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices of food handlers at kitchen premises in the Port ‘X’ area, North Jakarta, Indonesia 2018

Improper food handling can be a major cause of food contamination. To prevent food contamination, the food handler should have good knowledge, display a positive attitude, and practice proper food handling practices. This study aimed to evaluate the food safety and personal hygiene knowledge, attitudes, and practices of food handlers at kitchen premises in the Port ‘X’ area in North Jakarta, Indonesia. This study uses a cross-sectional design. The research was conducted in April 2018 and May 2018. Data were collected from 72 food handlers from kitchens located in the Port ‘X’ area in North Jakarta. Data collection was performed through interviews and observations, using questionnaires and checklists as research instruments. The results show a significant correlation between the level of knowledge about food safety and the attitude of food handlers (p=0.01), and attitude scores were significantly higher among food handlers who reported attending a previous food safety training course (p=0.002) with (r=0.302) it means a weak uphill (positive) linear relationship attitude scores and training that food handlers attended. This study found a significant relationship between the knowledge and attitude of food handlers, but there was no significant relationship between knowledge or attitude and food handling practices. Thus, it is recommended that training activities for food handlers be held regularly, as the food safety knowledge obtained from training or courses can translate into the improvement of attitudes and food handling practices.

LOW LEVEL OF FOOD HANDLING PRACTICES AMONG FOOD-HANDLERS IN SELECTED RESTAURANTS IN GGABA KAMPALA, MAKINDYE DIVISION UGANDA: AN IMPLICATION FOR SAFTETY TRAINING AND REGULATION

Background: Food borne diseases remain a major global public health issue with increased morbidity and mortality associated with consuming contaminated food material mostly predicted by the food handlers level of hygiene during the course of food preparations.This study assessed the level of food-handling behaviors among food-handlers in selected Restaurants in Ggaba, Kampala and determined whether demographic characteristics predict the risk of food-borne diseases. Methodology: The study was a food vendor-based cross-sectional study employing a researcher administered questionnaire to capturepertinent data on the food handling practices among 286 randomly selected participants measured on a 4-point likert scale responses. The variable items were computed together using SPSS version 25 to assess the score levelreported using simple descriptive statistics and further binary categorization was done for all the variables to explore the demographic predictors of poor food-handling behaviors using logistic regression. Analysis of variance was used to test differences in the level of food-handling practices across demographic characteristics at a cut-off of (p≤0.05) level of significance. Results: It was found out that the level of safe food handling practices measured on 18-point reference scale reported a mean score of 6.62 (CI= 6.33±6.90)and SD of ±2.45, denoting 37% of the complete safe food-handling practices expected from the respondents. Categorically, the findings showed that less than half of the respondents (43.4%) displayed good safe food-handling behavior. Older respondents (≥ 61 years) and food-handlers with primary educational attainment among others insignificantly demonstrated the poorest scores for safe food-handling behaviors. It was further observed that male respondents displayed the lowest score for safe food-handling practices (F=4.039, p=0.045). Similarly, at bivariate level, male respondents are 1.8 times more likely to display poor food-handling practice compared to females (AOR=1.8, 95% CI=1.07±3.08) whereas at multivariate level, no significant demographic predictor was found out.The findings further showed that less than half of the respondents (41%)self-reported to initiate hand washing most of the timebefore handling food, while only 1 in every 3 respondentssometimes employ hand gloves during food-handling procedure, more than two-third of the respondents (71.7%) do not always put on a face mask while handling food. By gender, 71% of them were Females of 40 years of age or below and 4 out every 5 participants (89.5%) had primary educational attainment or below. Conclusions: The study indicated a poor and unsatisfactory low level of Food-Handling Practices among Food-Handlers in the region mainly predicted by the gender of the respondents, and raised the need for personalized health education and training on safe handling of food as well as improved sanitation and personal hygienein order to avert potential health threats to consumers.

Food Handling Concerns and Practices Among Patients With Underlying Medical Conditions Associated With COVID-19 Severity

Objectives Concerns about COVID-19 transmission have led to greater engagement in unsafe food handling practices (i.e., practices that can cause illness due to chemical or microbial contamination of food). Despite public awareness that certain medical conditions exacerbate COVID-19 illness severity, little is known about whether these patients have unique concerns and/or engage in unsafe practices to prevent COVID-19 infection. We compared the concerns and practices between adults with and without underlying medical conditions associated with greater COVID-19 severity. Methods An online survey was distributed among urban residents between July-August 2020 to inquire about food handling concerns and practices. Participants were included in the “higher-risk” group if they had ≥1 medical condition known to aggravate COVID-19 severity. Participants without any of these underlying medical conditions were included in the comparison group. Food handling concerns were rated on a 5-point scale (1 = never, 5 = always) and practices were determined using “yes/no” responses. Between-group differences in food handling beliefs and practices were analyzed with independent t-tests and Fisher's exact tests. Results Participants (n = 437) had a mean age of 34.2 ± 0.5 years. The higher-risk group (n = 132) was more concerned about foodborne transmission of COVID-19, regardless of food vehicle, than the comparison group (all ps &lt; 0.0001). The higher-risk group also washed produce with cleaning agents (e.g., soap, hydrogen peroxide) more frequently [3.1 ± 1.6 vs. 2.5 ± 1.7; P = 0.001]. Relative to the comparison group, the higher-risk group left perishable food items outside for &gt;1 hour (P &lt; 0.0001) and washed raw meats with water and/or cleaning agents more often (P = 0.0001), while washing their hands before food preparation less often (P = 0.02). Conclusions Those at higher risk of greater COVID-19 severity were more concerned with foodborne COVID-19 transmission and more frequently engaged in unsafe food handling practices than those without underlying conditions. Effective methods are needed to correct misinformation surrounding COVID-19 foodborne transmission, especially among those with underlying medical conditions. Funding Sources This study was supported by a National Cancer Institute training grant.

Salmonella, Food Safety and Food Handling Practices

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.