Food safety knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices among food handlers in Sohag Governorate, Egypt

Background: Foodborne diseases are of public health importance worldwide. Most of the factors related to their occurrence are the responsibility of food handlers. Aims: This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices of food handlers in Sohag Governorate about food safety and the factors affecting their knowledge, attitudes and practices. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done from May 2016 to March 2017 with food handlers working in cafeterias, restaurants, food establishments and roadside food stands from four randomly selected districts in Sohag Governorate. A questionnaire was used to collect data on their sociodemographic characteristics - age, sex, residence (urban, rural), education (illiterate, primary, preparatory, secondary, university) and job (cook, assistant) - and food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices. Results: Of the 994 food handlers included in the study, 39.2% had good knowledge of food safety, 61.2% had positive attitudes and 56.3% reported good food safety practices. In univariate logistic regression, most of the variables were significantly associated with participants' knowledge. Only residence and education were significantly associated with positive attitudes. None of the variables was significantly associated with participants' practices. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, age, male sex, urban residence, higher education and working as a cook were strongly associated with good knowledge. Residence and education significantly influenced positive attitudes. Conclusion: Food handlers in our sample had poor knowledge of food safety and inadequate compliance with food safety practices. Educational and training programmes should be implemented to improve their knowledge, attitudes and practices.