Knowledge and self-reported food safety practices among meat consumers in Ilorin, Nigeria
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Odetokun I
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10953869 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:A key contributor to foodborne illnesses is consuming contaminated ready-to-eat foods, including raw meats. The latter is a common practice in Lebanon, a country that suffers from widespread pollution and food safety challenges. However, studies on the safety of raw meat consumption in Lebanon are limited. In this study, an attempt was made to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of the Lebanese population toward the potential risk associated with the consumption of raw meats, and to identify factors that affect KAP levels. An online survey (n = 577) was administered to Lebanese adults aged 18 years and above to assess their KAPs. The results showed that 74.5% of the participants consumed raw meat, 44% had good food safety knowledge, and 30.7% exhibited good practices. However, more than half of the participants (61.9%) showed a positive attitude toward food safety. There was a significant association between knowledge and attitude (p < 0.001), attitude and practices (p < 0.001), and knowledge and practices (p < 0.001), thereby indicating that an increase in food safety education could translate into better practices in this population. Accordingly, efforts to enhance education on food safety are warranted to reduce the potential risk of food poisoning associated with raw meat consumption in Lebanon.
| S-EPMC10779077 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Factors contributing to foodborne illnesses in Malaysia were identified as insanitary food handling procedures and lack of hygiene in food preparation area. Food safety at home is a critical point as consumers represent the final step in food preparation and prevention of foodborne diseases. This study aims to investigate the food safety knowledge, attitude and self-reported practices among consumers in Malaysia. An online survey was conducted, and data were analysed using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. A model linking food safety knowledge and attitude and their direct effects on practices were confirmed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The proposed model fulfilled the goodness of fit indices and is deemed acceptable. Respondents demonstrate good level of food safety knowledge and positive attitudes and self-reported practices. Food safety knowledge has a negative and insignificant relationship with food safety practices (β1 = -0.284, p>0.05) while attitude significantly affects food safety practices (β1 = 0.534, p<0.05). The findings clearly indicate that food safety knowledge does not directly affect food safety practices This is also the first study to provide new empirical findings on thermometer usage among consumers in Malaysia. This study establishes an important point of reference where consumers use visual appearances to determine if food is thoroughly cooked and practice washing raw chicken prior to cooking. Food safety practices at home play a critical role in protecting consumers in reducing risks of foodborne illnesses.
| S-EPMC7343170 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Meat handlers play a critical role in food safety by preventing contamination of food for human consumption. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken with 391 meat handlers working in abattoirs and retail meat stores in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, to investigate their food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). Data were collected in interviews using a semistructured questionnaire adapted from previous research. An overall score for each topic area was calculated based on the responses to individual questions. Logistic regression was used to assess the independent associations between sociodemographic characteristics and good knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Almost all meat handlers were males (97.2%), and more than half (51.9%) had primary-level education. Most (72.4%) meat handlers had a good knowledge level with a median score of 16 out of 21 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6). Similarly, most (94.6%) meat handlers had a positive attitude toward food safety with a median score 18 out of 20 (IQR = 1). However, most (83.7%) meat handlers had poor food safety practices with median score of 11 out of 20 (IQR = 3). In multivariable models, good knowledge was significantly (P < 0.05) associated with male gender and older age; positive attitudes were associated with lower educational attainment and good knowledge; and good practices were associated with working in an abattoir and having received training on food safety. Regular hands-on training and enforcement of general and personal hygiene is recommended.
| S-EPMC9833094 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Our paper emphasizes the importance of the kitchen layout in facilitating consumers' food hygiene practices. A significant correlation was found between the sink placement (inside or outside the kitchen) and hygienic practices during food handling based on a survey performed on consumers from ten European countries, indicating that those who had the sink in the kitchen were more likely to perform proper hygiene practices than those who have not. The self-reported practices were supported by observed practices in 64 households from five European countries. The observational study combined with the examination of kitchen layouts revealed that the kitchen work triangle with its apexes represented by the kitchen sink, cooking stove and refrigerator, which is recommended for ergonomic reasons by architects and designers, did not necessarily support food hygiene practices in kitchens. Cross-contamination events were associated with the sink - countertop distances longer than 1 m. Based on this, a new kitchen triangle with its apexes represented by the kitchen sink, working place (usually countertop) and cooking stove, with the distance between the sink and the working place less than 1 m is proposed to be used as norm in kitchen designs for combining ergonomics with safety. This triangle is proposedly named the food safety triangle and is aimed to mitigate the risks of foodborne illnesses by creating an arrangement that facilitates hygiene practices. This study is the first to highlight the importance of implementing the concept of food safety in the kitchen design based on significant correlations between kitchen equipment placement and consumers' food safety practices.
| S-EPMC8474550 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In this materialistic era, a substantial number of people are likely to have their meals outside of their homes and largely depend on the restaurants’ made food due to the prolonged working hours and tremendous pressure in workplace. Consequently, consumers expose themselves to risk and become vulnerable to illness caused by food. Unsafe food preparation and handling by restaurants’ workers have made food safety concern for public health. The study was aimed to examine the relationships among food safety knowledge, attitude, and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) practices in restaurant employees in Bangladesh. A total of 360 employees from 120 restaurants participated in a face-to-face interview through a structured questionnaire comprising four sections: demographic characteristics, food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices. The mean scores for each survey item were calculated and used in Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), designed to assess interrelationships among the three sections related to food safety. Participants obtained a correct average score of 53.32% in food safety knowledge, with the highest and lowest correct scores in Good Hygiene Practices (GHPs) and HACCP practices, respectively. The highest score in the attitude section belonged to “self-improvement”, followed by “food safety concern”. A negative correlation was observed between knowledge with practices, knowledge with attitudes, and a positive correlation was observed between practices with attitudes. A significant positive correlation was observed between HACCP practices with shelf improvement (r = 0.54, p < 0.05) and the knowledge toward food poisoning with GHP practices (r = 0.55, p < 0.05). Self-improvement and food safety concerns are negatively correlated with food poisoning, GHP, and HACCP practice. This study demonstrated that restaurant employees in Bangladesh often lack knowledge regarding food safety and HACCP. So, in order to improve knowledge and attitude on safe HACCP practice among the restaurants employees’, proper education and interactive training sessions can be conducted.
| S-EPMC10021393 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In this perspective, Andrew Browning of the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa discusses a study on obstetric fistula in Ilorin, Nigeria. The study was originally published in the West African Journal of Medicine [1]. With the journal's permission, we have made a PDF of the full-text article freely available on our website (see Text S1). Obstetric fistula causes women enormous distress and social isolation in developing countries like Nigeria. What do we know about the condition?
| S-EPMC523825 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study aimed to (i) compare the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported practices (KAP) and observed food safety practices of food truck (FT) food handlers, (ii) evaluate the microbiological quality of food and water samples collected from these vehicles, and (iii) establish a score classification for the KAP instrument according to the food contamination probability assessment. This study was conducted in three stages with 40 food truck food handlers conveniently sampled in the Federal District, Brazil, through structured interviews, application of an observational checklist for the assessment of handlers' practices and the collection of food and water samples for determination of microbiological quality. FTs that are likely to exhibit food contamination and are at a high risk of foodborne diseases if at least one of the following situations occur: (1) if a food handler scores ?6 in the knowledge section; (2) if a food handler scores ?5 in the attitudes section; or (3) if a food handler scores ?6 in the self-reported practices section. On the other hand, FTs in which handlers score higher than the cutoff points in all the sections are unlikely to exhibit food contamination and are at a low risk of foodborne diseases. The findings of this study are the first step to understand food handlers' point of view and the initial diagnosis to guide educational strategies in the FT sector.
| S-EPMC6722497 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCOVID-19 is a pandemic disease that has paralyzed social life and the economy around the world since the end of 2019, and which has so far killed nearly 600,000 people. The rapidity of its spread and the lack of detailed research on the course and methods of transmission significantly impede both its eradication and prevention.Scope and approachDue to the high transmission rate and fatality resulting from COVID-19 disease, the paper focuses on analyzing the current state of knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 as well as its potential connection with food as a source of pathogen and infection.Key findings and conclusionsThere is currently no evidence (scientific publications, WHO, EFSA etc.) that COVID-19 disease can spread directly through food and the human digestive system. However, according to the hypothesis regarding the primary transmission of the virus, the source of which was food of animal origin (meat of wild animals), as well as the fact that food is a basic necessity for humans, it is worth emphasizing that food can, if not directly, be a carrier of the virus. Particular attention should be paid to this indirect pathway when considering the potential for the spread of an epidemic and the development of prevention principles.
| S-EPMC7480472 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic affected the food supply chain, retailers, and consumers owing to infection awareness. This study evaluated the impacts COVID-19 on ASF retailers' businesses and consumers' livelihoods, as well as their knowledge toward the disease, attitudes, and food safety practices to prevent infections. The study includes a cross-sectional component that was conducted in urban/peri-urban (U/PU) and rural areas in Chiang Mai province. In another part of the study, a structured questionnaire was developed for animal source food (ASF) retailers and consumers, with three primary parts for data analysis: general information, COVID-19 impacts, and knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) assessment. Data corresponding to three periods of interest (before the COVID-19 outbreak, during partial lockdown, and present) were gathered and analyzed. In this study, 155 retailers and 150 consumers participated, of which the majority of the respondents were female (70.3% and 82.7%, respectively) with average ages of 47.4 and 44.9 years, respectively. The most noticeable effect of COVID-19 was a decline in income for retailers and consumers. The KAP scores of consumers in both areas were not significantly different, whereas the retailer attitudes toward COVID-19 prevention and food safety practices scored more highly in rural areas than in U/PU. During the partial lockdown, food safety practices significantly improved relative to the time preceding the outbreak, and these practices have remained constant to the present day. The results revealed that gender, age group, business type, and type of ASF retailers were associated with the KAP of the retailers, whereas gender, age group, education, number of family members, and occupation were associated with the KAP of the consumers. Our findings provide in-depth information about the effects of COVID-19 on ASF retailers and consumers, as well as their KAP regarding the outbreak and food safety, which may serve as support in developing policies for improved health and food safety.
| S-EPMC9408671 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPre-slaughter stress or the welfare condition of food-producing animals (FPAs) and the slaughter practices of slaughterhouse workers (SHWs) are critically important for the safety and quality of meats processed in slaughterhouses (SHs). Consequently, this study determined the pre-slaughter, slaughter, and post-slaughter (PSP) practices of SHWsin four SHs in Southeast, Nigeria; and discussed the impacts on meat quality and safety.MethodsThe PSP practices were determined by observation method. Additionally, a structured and validated closed-ended questionnaire was used to determine the knowledge of the SHWs on: the effects of poor welfare (preslaughter stress) on the quality and safety of meats produced, carcass/meat processing practices and modes of transmission of meat-borne zoonotic pathogens during carcass/meat processing. Finally, a systematic post-mortem inspection (PMI) was conducted on cattle, pigs and goats slaughtered, and economic losses accruable from condemned carcasses/meats were estimated.ResultsFood-producing animals were transported to the SHs or held in the lairage under inhumane conditions. A pig being conveyed to one of the SHs was seen gasping for air, as it was firmly tied on motorbike at the thoracic and abdominal regions. Fatigued cattle were forcefully dragged on the ground from the lairage to the killing floor. Cattle for slaughter were restrained, held in lateral recumbency and left groaning, due to extreme discomfort, for about one hour before slaughter. Stunning was not performed. Singed pig carcasses were dragged on the ground to the washing point. Although more than 50% of the respondents knew the modes of transmission of meat-borne zoonotic pathogens during meat processing, 71.3% of the SHWs processed carcasses on bare floor, 52.2% used same bowl of water to wash multiple carcasses while 72% did not wear personal protective equipment during meat/carcass processing. Processed meats were transported to meat shops in an unsanitary conditions, using open vans and tricycles. During the PMI, diseased carcasses/meats/organs were detected in 5.7% (83/1452), 2.1% (21/1006) and 0.8% (7/924) of the cattle, pig and goat carcasses inspected, respectively. Gross lesions pathognomonic of bovine tuberculosis, contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia, fascioliasis and porcine cysticercosis were detected. Consequently, 391,089.2 kg of diseased meat/organs valued at 978 million Naira (235, 030 USD) were condemned. There were significant associations (p < 0.05) between educational level and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during slaughterhouse operations and knowledge that FPAs can harbour zoonotic pathogens (p = < 0.001) transmissible during carcass processing. Similarly, significant association was observed between working experience and use of PPE; and between geographical location of the respondents and knowledge that zoonotic pathogens in animals are transmissible during carcass processing or via the food chain.ConclusionThe findings show that slaughter practices of SHWs have detrimental impacts on the quality and safety of meats processed for human consumption in Southeast, Nigeria. These findings underscore the need to: improve the welfare condition of slaughter-animals, mechanise abattoir operations, train and retrain the SHWs on hygienic carcass/meat processing practices. There is a need to adopt strict enforcement of food safety laws to promote meat quality, food safety and consequently promote the health of the public.
| S-EPMC9983863 | biostudies-literature