Factors associated with food safety knowledge and practices among meat handlers in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND@#Food handlers can play a vital role into reducing foodborne diseases by adopting appropriate food handling and sanitation practices in working plants. This study aimed to assess the factors associated with food safety knowledge and practices among meat handlers who work at butcher shops in Bangladesh.@*METHODS@#A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 meat handlers from January to March, 2021. Data were collected through in-person interviews using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three parts; socio-demographic characteristics, assessments of food safety knowledge, and food safety practices. A multiple logistic regression model was used to identify the factors associated with food safety knowledge and practices.@*RESULTS@#Only 20% [95% confidence interval, (CI) 15.7-24.7] and 16.3% (95% CI 12.3-20.7) of the respondents demonstrated good levels of food safety knowledge and practices, respectively. The factors associated with good levels of food safety knowledge were: having a higher secondary education [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.57, 95% CI 1.11-18.76], income above 25,000 BDT/month (AOR = 10.52, 95% CI 3.43-32.26), work experience of > 10 years (AOR = 9.31, 95% CI 1.92-45.09), ≥ 8 h per day of work (AOR = 6.14, 95% CI 2.69-13.10), employed on a daily basis (AOR = 4.05, 95% CI 1.16-14.14), and having food safety training (AOR = 8.98 95% CI 2.16-37.32). Good food safety knowledge (AOR = 5.68, 95% CI 2.33-13.87) and working ≥ 8 h per day (AOR = 8.44, 95% CI 3.11-22.91) were significantly associated with a good level of food safety practice.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Poor knowledge and practices regarding food safety were found among Bangladeshi meat handlers. Findings may help public health professionals and practitioners develop targeted strategies to improve food safety knowledge and practices among this population. Such strategies may include education and sensitization on good food safety practices.

The Influence of Self-resilience on Dietary Management in Middle School Students / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to identify self-resilience factors that drive right dietary and food safety practices in middle school students. METHODS: Data was collected from 438 middle school students in Daegu using a self-administered questionnaire in December, 2013. The questionnaire consisted of 81 items with the following categories: general information, self-resilience, right dietary and food safety practices. Statistical analyses to determine frequency, average, ANOVA, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression analysis were performed using SPSS 21. RESULTS: The results of factor analysis indicated that self-resilience was classified into challenge, adaptability, patience and achievement needs, and right dietary practices were sub-grouped into family meals, experience of dietary life, eco-friendly, balanced food, economy and bad food control, and food safety practices consisted of management of bacteria, hand washing and eating off a plate, safety food and food purchasing. The score of right dietary and food safety practices showed significant differences by sex, grade, and school achievement (p < 0.05). The economy factor of right dietary practices was significantly affected by the management of bacteria (p < 0.001), hand washing and eating off a plate (p < 0.001), safety food (p < 0.01), food purchasing of food safety practices (p < 0.05). The challenge factor of self-resilience significantly affected family meals, experience of dietary life, balanced food, economy, bad food control, management of bacteria, hand washing and eating off a plate, and safety food (p < 0.05). The adaptability factor of self-resilience was associated with factors such as eco-friendly, balanced food, economy, bad food control, management of bacteria, hand washing and eating off a plate, and food purchasing (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that dietary education programs for middle school students could incorporate food safety practices, and self-resilience such as challenge, adaptability, patience and achievement needs to be effective.

Foodservice Management and Food Safety Knowledge and Practices of Employees in Elderly Welfare Facilities

This study examined the current status of foodservice management in elderly welfare facilities and evaluated food service workers' food safety practices and knowledge. For this, the directors of 20 elderly welfare facilities (each with fewer than 50 residents) located in Seoul were interviewed and a survey of 40 foodservice workers was conducted to determine their food safety knowledge and practices. The facilities accommodated an average of 28 residents. All the facilities were self-operated and approximately 62% were dependent on payments by residents. Only 15% had a dietitian in charge of menu planning, food purchasing, and food safety management. Approximately 50% had their facility managers take responsibilities for menu planning and food safety management. Most of the facilities provided food safety training within their own facility and sanitized their utensils, cutting boards, and dishcloths on a daily basis. A limited number of foodservice workers, insufficient training programs, and budget constraints were some of the major barriers to food safety management. Their average score on food safety practices was 1.62, and that on food safety knowledge was 17.6 out of 19 points. These results indicate that the foodservice workers had good food safety knowledge and appropriate food safety practices. There was a significant correlation only between food safety practices related to receiving and storing food products and knowledge of personal hygiene.

School Food Safety Practices in USA

The Purposes of this article were to review school meal programs and school food safety practices in USA and to draw up improvement plan of school foodservice in Korea. American school meal programs are composed of national school lunch program(NSLP), school breakfast program(SBP), special milk program(SMP) and summer food service program(SFSP). More than 29 million children receive meals daily. School districts and independent schools that choose to take part in the NSLP get cash subsidies and donated commodities from the USDA for each meal they serve. In case of NSLP, around 59% of the participant students are benefited from free or reduced price. According to the U.S. Government Accounting Office, outbreaks of foodborne disease in schools are rare, but appear to be increasing in incidence proportional to overall increases. School outbreaks tends to comprise a greater number of large outbreaks and this shows a similarity with the foodborne disease trend in Korea. School districts, federal agencies, and state and local agencies in USA use or suggest useful food safety practices for school meal programs. They told that four of these practices had the potential to enhance the safety of school meal programs. The four practices are (1) employing key foodservice personnel who are trained and certified in food safety practices, (2) implementing a risk-based approach for safely preparing, storing, and serving foods, (3) purchasing precooked or irradiated meal and poultry products, and (4) applying the more stringent purchasing specifications that USDA uses when purchasing some of the food commodities it donates to schools.