Food Safety Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Hospital Food Handlers in Davao City

Abstract

<p>The study determined the relationships between food safety knowledge and practices of hospital food handlers in Davao City and also between their attitudes and practices regarding food safety. Questionnaire patterned after the Key Food Safety Guidelines of Pacific Northwest Publications was administered to 51food handlers to generate the data. It was found that hospital food handlers in Davao City are highly knowledgeable and have favorable attitudes in food safety. The extent of food safety practices of food handlers in general is high except for their practices in cooking foods adequately and in keeping foods at safe temperatures which are only at moderate extent. In addition, there was no significant difference in the knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers regarding food safety when they were grouped according to sex, age, level of education and length of service. In general, this study revealed that neither of the knowledge nor attitudes of the hospital food handlers were able to establish significant relationships with their practices regarding food safety.</p>