Abstract
Foodborne diseases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Studies have shown that the knowledge, attitude, and practices of food handlers are important factors in preventing foodborne illness. The purpose of this research is to assess the effects of training interventions on knowledge, attitude, and practice on food safety and hygiene among food handlers at different stages of the food supply chain. To this end, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis with close adherence to the PRISMA guidelines. We searched for training interventions among food handlers in five databases. Randomized control trials (RCT), quasi-RCTs, controlled before–after, and nonrandomized designs, including pre–post studies, were analyzed to allow a more comprehensive assessment. The meta-analysis was conducted using the random-effects model to calculate the effect sizes (Hedges’s g) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Out of 1094 studies, 31 were included. Results showed an effect size of 1.24 (CI = 0.89–1.58) for knowledge, an attitude effect size of 0.28 (CI = 0.07–0.48), and an overall practice effect size of 0.65 (CI = 0.24–1.06). In addition, subgroups of self-reported practices and observed practices presented effect sizes of 0.80 (CI = 0.13–1.48) and 0.45 (CI = 0.15–0.76) respectively.
Highlights
Food safety is a global public health threat with frequent incidents of foodborne diseases.the COVID-19 outbreak has put more pressure on global public health; organizations of producers and providers along the food supply chain are facing an ongoing challenge to improve and to extreme food safety and hygiene due to the pandemic
We classified the 31 final papers into three categories based on their main outcomes: changes in knowledge, attitude, and practices toward food safety and hygiene following training meta-analysisTwenty-six of studies conducting training interventions food handlers involvedchanges in different interventions
We classified the 31 final papers into three categories based on their main outcomes: changes in knowledge, attitude, and practices toward food safety and hygiene following training interventions
Summary
The COVID-19 outbreak has put more pressure on global public health; organizations of producers and providers along the food supply chain are facing an ongoing challenge to improve and to extreme food safety and hygiene due to the pandemic. In this context, foodborne diseases are responsible for major economic costs for a country [1,2]. Pathogens may appear in food, for instance, through unsafe farm practices, contamination during manufacturing, packaging, or distributing, or contamination in stores [7,8]
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