Abstract
Background: Food safety is regarded as being essential for public health on a global scale due to the continual development of food-borne illnesses. Poor food handling techniques continue to be a major contributor to food poisoning outbreaks, despite an increase in the number of food handlers taking food hygiene courses.
Aim: The study investigated the knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers in the Mopani district's school feeding programs regarding food safety and hygiene.
Methods: The study was conducted in the Limpopo Province of South Africa's Mopani East district. Utilizing a quantitative research strategy, a cross-sectional study design was chosen. Approximately 356 food handlers in total were enlisted to participate in the study. The research's conclusions were obtained using data extraction from a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Socio-demographic variables were summarized using frequencies and percentages, while bar charts and pie charts provide a pictorial view. The individual items were translated using frequencies and percentages. The total Knowledge Attitudes and Practices (KAP) scores were estimated by adding all correct responses given, and an average was estimated with results reported as means and standard deviation. The binary outcomes were summarized using percentages and frequencies. The cross-tabulations were conducted for each KAP outcome to see how each strategy differs across socio-demographic variables. The 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the crude odds ratio (COR) and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) were reported.
Results: The study revealed that most respondents knew food safety practices. The study did not find significant relationships between socio-demographic variables. The highest number (268) (75.05%) of food handlers had been trained for food safety.
Conclusion Despite training in food safety only 134 (40.1%) food handlers knew that cutting boards should not be used for raw food and cooked food at the same time, 95(28.4%) knew that freezing can help in destroying bacteria, 244(73.3%) knew that wiping clothes can be contaminated by bacteria, 155(44.1%) knew that supervisors and food handlers are responsible for food safety. We can draw the conclusion that training does not equal knowledge in food safety hence regular inspections to check compliance and the emphasis on food hygiene practices remains essential. Key Words: Food safety, Foodborne disease, Food handlers, Food hygiene, School feeding scheme.