Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAPs) on Food Safety Among Food Handlers in School Canteens in Eastern Visayas, Philippines

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAPs) on food safety among food handlers in different high school canteens in Eastern Visayas, Philippines. Of the 26 respondents, the were between 36-45 years (23.1%), are females (76.9%), reached tertiary education (73.1%), and obtained food safety-related trainings (50%). When it came to foodborne disease transmission, 96.2%, 88.5%, and 73.1% of the respondents know that Salmonella, hepatitis A virus and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively, are foodborne pathogens. Yet some of the respondents (38.4%) did not know that microbes can be in the skin, nose and mouth of a healthy food handler. The overall satisfactory knowledge of food safety among the respondents did not however translate into positive attitudes and satisfactory practices on food safety. The majority of the respondents were unaware of the appropriate way in thawing meat products (57.7% wrong answers); 53.8% of the respondents practiced refreezing of defrosted food products, and washing of eggs soon after purchase. Although the majority of the respondents (80.8%) knew that eating and drinking in the workplace increased the risk of food contamination, 53.8% of these respondents still report eating and drinking during working hours. Overall, findings revealed that adequate knowledge on food safety will not necessarily translate into positive attitudes and good practices on food safety. Thus, continuous food safety education and subsequent monitoring and evaluation are a must. Strategies to motivate food handlers in pursuing food safety procedures are also recommended.