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Knowledge, and practice of home-based food handlers in Hulu Selangor, Malaysia regarding food safety
* 1, 2 , 3
1  Department of Foodservice and Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2  Laboratory of Food Safety and Food Integrity, Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
3  Department of Food Service and Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Academic Editor: Christopher J. Smith

Abstract:

Food operators have been known as one of the sources of foodborne diseases in many food establishments. The illness usually occurs due to poor personal hygiene, which contaminates food during food preparation. The increasing number of online food businesses during the pandemic Covid-19 might cause a rising number of foodborne outbreaks. This is due to the lack of information and training about food safety among home-based food handlers. Thus, this study aims to assess the level of food safety knowledge, and practice of home-based food handlers in Hulu Selangor, Malaysia. This study also determined the correlation between food safety knowledge, and practice among home-based food handlers with their sociodemographic characteristics. Data were collected among 100 home-based food handlers around Hulu Selangor, Malaysia using a non-experimental quantitative method. The questionnaires were distributed via social media such as Facebook, and WhatsApp. Results have shown that the level of home-based food handlers’ knowledge was high with a mean percentage score (SD) of 97.50% (10.02). On the other hand, the level of food handlers’ practice was also high with a mean percentage score (SD) of 96.05% (7.92). The study found that knowledge was significantly correlated with experience, typhoid injection and attending a food safety course (p<0.05). Whereas practice was significantly correlated with education level, income and age (p<0.05). This study also found that there was a significant relationship between level of knowledge and practice among the home-based food handlers (p<0.05). Due to the increased number of home-based food handlers, it is critical to ensure that foods served to customers are safe and clean. Consequently, this will lead to a reduced number of foodborne illnesses. The study therefore showed the level of knowledge and practice in food safety among home-based food handlers and the data can be used to decrease the incidence of foodborne illness due to mishandling at home.​

Keywords: home-based food handlers; foodborne; food safety; knowledge; practice
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