Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Food Handlers in Restaurants in Malé, Maldives

Sarina Abdul Halim-Lim (), Khalisa Mohamed, Firdaus Muhammad Sukki (), Wahyudi David, Ungku Fatimah Ungku Zainal Abidin and Adi Ainurzaman Jamaludin
Additional contact information
Sarina Abdul Halim-Lim: Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Khalisa Mohamed: Food Control Division, Maldives Food and Drug Authority, Ministry of Health, Malé 20184, Maldives
Firdaus Muhammad Sukki: School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh EH10 5DT, UK
Wahyudi David: Department of Food Science and Technology, Universitas Bakrie, Jakarta 12920, Indonesia
Ungku Fatimah Ungku Zainal Abidin: Department of Food Service and Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Adi Ainurzaman Jamaludin: Environmental Science and Management Program, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 17, 1-15

Abstract: Poor hygiene in the food service industry is a critical public health concern in the Maldives, and is caused by several issues, such as limited inspections and monitoring, inadequate training and knowledge, and a lack of a regulatory framework. Thus, this study aims to identify the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of food handlers in the Maldives as well as the potential association between the variables (knowledge, attitude, and practice). A total of 290 food handlers from restaurants were surveyed for four months through a quantitative questionnaire; most of them are male, Bangladeshi, and aged 26–35 years old. The result demonstrates that the food handlers have an acceptable level of knowledge (55.5% ± 1.51), an acceptable attitude (3.62 ± 0.51), and a good level of practice (4.18 ± 0.54) in food safety. The food handlers in Malé have poor practices in time and temperature control, especially in thawing and storage, resulting from a lack of training in the temperature danger zone. Work experience influences the level of knowledge, education impacts attitude and training, and work experience and education impact practice. A positive moderate association was observed between knowledge and practices (r s = 0.536, p < 0.05), knowledge and attitudes (r s = 0.407, p < 0.05), and practices and attitudes (r s = 0.317, p < 0.05). Despite the good scores obtained in practices from the self-report questionnaire, the results of the observational assessment made on 102 restaurants exhibit overall poor practices, including deficient time and temperature control, and other categories of food safety need further attention in the design of training processes. This study can help policymakers to review and improve law enforcement to address the current food safety situation in the Maldives and can help businesses to selectively plan food safety training based on the KAPs of Maldivian food handlers.

Keywords: food safety; food security; knowledge, attitude, and practice; food handlers; training; Maldives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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