Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding food safety among food employees in Ambon city, Indonesia

JIMMI K P SIHOMBING ; Dr. Dra. Retna Siwi Padmawati, MA. ; Dr. Susi Ari Kristina, S.Farm., M.Kes., Ap (2018)


Introduction: It is estimated that each year, 1.8 million people worldwide die as a result of diarrhoeal diseases attributed to contaminated food. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding food safety and hygiene among food employees in Ambon Capital City, Maluku Province, Indonesia. Methods: A validated questionnaire was self-administered and completed by 135 food employees in small food companies in Jan-March, 2017. The knowledge section consisted of 19 yes-no questions. For knowledge, the score was considered acceptable if total score was ≥10. Fourteen 4-point Likert-scale questions were constructed for the attitude section, whereby a score of 3.0 and above for each question was considered positive. The practice section consisted of 13 4-point Likert scale items, and a score of ≥3 was considered good practice. The WHO Five Keys to Safer Food Manual was used as reference. Results: The respondents had an acceptable level of knowledge about food safety and personal hygiene (mean score=13.08±2.55), a positive attitude (mean score=3.38±0.55) and good practices toward food hygiene measures (mean score=3.98±0.55). A significant correlation was observed between education level, training experience, knowledge, attitude and practices, indicating that having good knowledge and attitude toward food safety could have positive influence on food handling practices. Conclusions: It is recommended that regular food safety training and adequate guidelines should be provided to improve food safety practices of food service employees in Ambon City.

Selengkapnya: https://nutriweb.org.my/mjn/2018.php