Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Food Handlers in Restaurants in Malé, Maldives
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design
2.2. Study Area and Sample Size
2.3. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
2.4. Questionnaire Design and Pilot Study
2.5. Data Analysis
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Food Handlers’ Sociodemographic Descriptions
3.2. Food Safety Knowledge
3.3. Food Safety Attitudes
3.4. Food Safety Practice
3.4.1. Self-Report Assessment
3.4.2. Observation of Food Safety Practice
Personal Hygiene
Time and Temperature Control
Cross-Contamination
3.5. Impact of Sociodemographic Characteristics on Food Safety KAP
3.6. The Association of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice
4. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Demographic Characteristics | Variables | Number of Respondents (n) | Percentage (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Age | >25 | 90 | 31.7 |
26–35 | 168 | 57.9 | |
36–45 | 27 | 9.3 | |
<45 | 5 | 1.7 | |
Gender | Male | 246 | 84.8 |
Female | 44 | 15.2 | |
Marital state | Married | 154 | 53.1 |
Not married | 136 | 46.9 | |
Nationality | Bangladesh | 139 | 47.9 |
India | 34 | 11.7 | |
Indonesia | 1 | 0.3 | |
Maldives | 45 | 15.5 | |
Nepal | 16 | 5.5 | |
Philippines | 10 | 3.4 | |
Singapore | 1 | 0.3 | |
Sri Lanka | 38 | 13.1 | |
Thailand | 6 | 2.1 | |
Level of education | No formal education | 57 | 19.7 |
Primary school | 56 | 19.3 | |
Secondary school | 81 | 27.9 | |
College or university | 96 | 33.1 | |
Work experience | >1 year | 40 | 13.8 |
1 to 5 years | 145 | 50.0 | |
6 to 10 years | 68 | 23.4 | |
>10 years | 37 | 12.8 | |
Job responsibilities | Cooking | 45 | 15.5 |
Cleaning and washing dishes | 58 | 20.0 | |
Food serving | 187 | 64.5 | |
Food safety training | Trained | 139 | 47.9 |
Not Trained | 151 | 52.1 | |
Areas of training | Handwashing | 110 | 37.9 |
Cross-contamination | 64 | 22.1 | |
Cleaning and sanitization | 90 | 31.0 | |
Health | 65 | 22.4 | |
Temperature danger zone | 48 | 16.6 | |
Glove use | 78 | 26.9 | |
Allergens | 32 | 11 | |
Training hours | Periodic job training | 30 | 10.3 |
<1 h | 11 | 3.8 | |
1 to 2 h | 28 | 9.7 | |
3 to 5 h | 26 | 9.0 | |
6 to 10 h | 21 | 7.2 | |
>10 h | 23 | 7.9 |
Category | Questions | Response Frequency (%) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
True | False | Do not Know | ||
Personal hygiene |
| 286 (98.6%) | 2 (0.7%) | 2 (0.7%) |
| 266 (91.7%) | 10 (3.4%) | 14 (4.8%) | |
| 253 (87.2%) | 26 (9.0%) | 11 (3.8%) | |
| 284 (97.9%) | 5 (1.7%) | 1 (0.3%) | |
Cross-contamination |
| 250 (88.0%) | 14 (4.9%) | 20 (7.0%) |
| 63 (21.7%) | 217 (74.8%) | 10 (3.4%) | |
| 97 (33.4%) | 134 (46.2%) | 59 (20.3%) | |
| 214 (73.8%) | 47 (16.2%) | 29 (10.0%) | |
Time and temperature control |
| 165 (56.9%) | 83 (28.6%) | 42 (14.5%) |
| 136 (46.9%) | 61 (21.0%) | 93 (32.1%) | |
| 166 (57.2%) | 30 (10.4%) | 94 (32.4%) | |
| 136 (46.9%) | 62 (21.4%) | 92 (31.7%) | |
Foodborne pathogen |
| 218 (75.2%) | 29 (10.0%) | 43 (14.8%) |
| 163 (56.2%) | 22 (7.6%) | 105 (36.2%) | |
| 177 (61.0%) | 17 (5.9%) | 96 (33.1%) | |
| 101 (34.8%) | 74 (25.5%) | 115 (39.7%) |
Question | Agree | Disagree | Undecided | Mean ± SD |
---|---|---|---|---|
| 102 (35.2%) | 179 (61.7%) | 9 (3.1%) | 3.33 ± 1.48 |
| 35 (12.1%) | 241 (83.1%) | 14 (4.8%) | 4.01 ± 0.99 |
| 87 (30%) | 166 (57.2% | 37 (12.8%) | 3.34 ± 1.26 |
| 70 (37.9%) | 213 (73.4%) | 7 (2.4%) | 3.65 ± 1.21 |
| 14 (4.9%) | 266 (91.7%) | 10 (3.4%) | 4.38 ± 0.85 |
| 71 (24.4%) | 209 (72.1%) | 10 (3.4%) | 3.74 ± 1.42 |
| 38 (13.1%) | 228 (78.6%) | 24 (8.3%) | 4.02 ± 1.15 |
| 212 (73.1%) | 39 (13.5%) | 39 (13.4%) | 3.80 ± 1.02 |
| 93 (32.1%) | 149 (51.4%) | 48 (16.6%) | 3.32 ± 1.41 |
| 137 (47.2%) | 130 (44.8%) | 23 (7.9%) | 2.92 ± 1.27 |
| 172 (59.3%) | 23 (8%) | 95 (32.8%) | 3.72 ± 0.93 |
| 165 (56.9%) | 49 (16.9%) | 76 (26.2%) | 2.45 ± 0.99 |
| 270 (93.1%) | 7 (2.4%) | 13 (4.5%) | 4.28 ± 0.72 |
| 183 (63.1%) | 14 (4.9%) | 93 (32.1%) | 3.74 ± 0.88 |
| 252 (86.9%) | 19 (6.6%) | 19 (6.6%) | 4.10 ± 0.83 |
| 102 (35.1%) | 157 (54.2%) | 31 (10.7%) | 3.16 ± 1.28 |
Question | Sufficient | Mean ± SD |
---|---|---|
| 243 (83.8%) | 4.79 ± 0.54 |
| 239 (82.4%) | 4.64 ± 0.89 |
| 90 (31.0%) | 3.32 ± 2.47 |
| 237 (81.7%) | 4.65 ± 0.92 |
| 226 (77.9%) | 4.50 ± 1.11 |
| 238 (82.1%) | 4.61 ± 0.99 |
| 179 (61.7%) | 4.39 ± 0.95 |
| 227 (78.3%) | 4.71 ± 0.64 |
| 110 (37.9%) | 3.41 ± 1.50 |
| 79 (27.5%) | 3.32 ± 1.47 |
| 109 (37.6%) | 3.71 ± 1.25 |
| 103 (35.5%) | 3.52 ± 1.38 |
| 226 (77.9%) | 4.58 ± 0.99 |
| 191 (65.9%) | 4.26 ± 1.26 |
| 154 (53.1%) | 4.30 ± 0.93 |
| 140 (48.3%) | 4.11 ± 1.02 |
Aspects | Observation Practice | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Personal hygiene | Untrimmed fingernails | (57%) |
Do not wear jewellery while preparing food | (78%) | |
Handwashing facilities | Washbasin damaged | (5%) |
Detergent not provided | (25%) | |
Hand-drying facilities not provided | (22%) | |
Functional handwashing facilities | (54%) | |
Thawing of meat/chicken/fish | Kept in a bowl of water | (48%) |
Kept inside the sink without a running water supply | (22%) | |
Kept in a tray/bowl without water | (23%) | |
Use a microwave and chiller | (10%) | |
Temperature of chiller | Temperature above 5 °C | (57%) |
Temperature below 5 °C | (43%) | |
Availability of hot cupboard to keep hot food | Not available | (72%) |
Available but not used | (3%) | |
Available and used | (27%) | |
Wipe cloths | Cloth dirty/smells bad | (39%) |
Separate cloths not identified by the food handlers | (3%) | |
Same cloths used | (4%) | |
Separation of cutting boards for raw and cooked food | Separated but not identified by the food handlers | (8%) |
Separated but not used accordingly | (25%) | |
Separated completely | (69%) | |
Not separated | (3%) | |
Availability of gloves | Not available | (17%) |
Available | (83%) |
Aspects | p-Values | ||
---|---|---|---|
Knowledge | Attitude | Self-Reported Practice | |
Age | 0.861 | 0.642 | 0.083 |
Education levels | 0.045 | 0.009 | 0.000 |
Work experience | 0.007 | 0.125 | 0.016 |
Food safety training | 0.014 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Level | Spearmen’s Rho | p-Value |
---|---|---|
Knowledge—attitude | 0.414 | 0.000 |
Knowledge—practice | 0.304 | 0.000 |
Attitude—practice | 0.172 | 0.003 |
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Halim-Lim, S.A.; Mohamed, K.; Sukki, F.M.; David, W.; Ungku Zainal Abidin, U.F.; Jamaludin, A.A. Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Food Handlers in Restaurants in Malé, Maldives. Sustainability 2023, 15, 12695. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712695
Halim-Lim SA, Mohamed K, Sukki FM, David W, Ungku Zainal Abidin UF, Jamaludin AA. Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Food Handlers in Restaurants in Malé, Maldives. Sustainability. 2023; 15(17):12695. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712695
Chicago/Turabian StyleHalim-Lim, Sarina Abdul, Khalisa Mohamed, Firdaus Muhammad Sukki, Wahyudi David, Ungku Fatimah Ungku Zainal Abidin, and Adi Ainurzaman Jamaludin. 2023. "Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Food Handlers in Restaurants in Malé, Maldives" Sustainability 15, no. 17: 12695. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712695