Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers in restaurants in the Maldives

Poor hygiene in the food services industry is a critical public health concern in the Maldives, with an average of 35 public complaints per month regarding the poor hygienic conditions of the restaurants in Male’, the capital of Maldives. Thus, this study aimed to identify the level of knowledge, at...

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Main Authors: Abdul Halim-Lim, Sarina, Mohamed, Khalisa, Muhammad Sukki, Firdaus, David, Wahyudi, Ungku Zainal Abidin, Ungku Fatimah, Jamaludin, Adi Ainurzaman
Format: Article
Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108039/
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author Abdul Halim-Lim, Sarina
Mohamed, Khalisa
Muhammad Sukki, Firdaus
David, Wahyudi
Ungku Zainal Abidin, Ungku Fatimah
Jamaludin, Adi Ainurzaman
author_facet Abdul Halim-Lim, Sarina
Mohamed, Khalisa
Muhammad Sukki, Firdaus
David, Wahyudi
Ungku Zainal Abidin, Ungku Fatimah
Jamaludin, Adi Ainurzaman
author_sort Abdul Halim-Lim, Sarina
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Poor hygiene in the food services industry is a critical public health concern in the Maldives, with an average of 35 public complaints per month regarding the poor hygienic conditions of the restaurants in Male’, the capital of Maldives. Thus, this study aimed to identify the level of knowledge, attitude, and the gap of self-reported with the observed practice (KAP) of food handlers as well as the potential association between KAP. 290 food handlers from restaurants were surveyed, demonstrating moderate knowledge (55.5%), moderate attitude (3.62±0.51) and good practice (4.18±0.54). However, it is critical the result shows the food handlers in Male’ have poor practice on the time and temperature control where especially on thawing and storage resulting from a lack of training in the temperature danger zone. The work experience impacting the level of knowledge, education impacts the level of attitude and age, and education and work experience impacting practice. Male’ restaurants mostly employed the foreigners mostly from Bangladesh and the food handlers were identified to have low level of education. Association analysis identified significant relationships between knowledge, attitude, and practice, while the principle component analysis shows categories that are related to each of KAP. This study is fundamental for policymakers to review and improve law enforcement to address the current food safety situation in the Maldives.
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spelling upm-1080392024-09-26T04:11:00Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108039/ Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers in restaurants in the Maldives Abdul Halim-Lim, Sarina Mohamed, Khalisa Muhammad Sukki, Firdaus David, Wahyudi Ungku Zainal Abidin, Ungku Fatimah Jamaludin, Adi Ainurzaman Poor hygiene in the food services industry is a critical public health concern in the Maldives, with an average of 35 public complaints per month regarding the poor hygienic conditions of the restaurants in Male’, the capital of Maldives. Thus, this study aimed to identify the level of knowledge, attitude, and the gap of self-reported with the observed practice (KAP) of food handlers as well as the potential association between KAP. 290 food handlers from restaurants were surveyed, demonstrating moderate knowledge (55.5%), moderate attitude (3.62±0.51) and good practice (4.18±0.54). However, it is critical the result shows the food handlers in Male’ have poor practice on the time and temperature control where especially on thawing and storage resulting from a lack of training in the temperature danger zone. The work experience impacting the level of knowledge, education impacts the level of attitude and age, and education and work experience impacting practice. Male’ restaurants mostly employed the foreigners mostly from Bangladesh and the food handlers were identified to have low level of education. Association analysis identified significant relationships between knowledge, attitude, and practice, while the principle component analysis shows categories that are related to each of KAP. This study is fundamental for policymakers to review and improve law enforcement to address the current food safety situation in the Maldives. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023 Article PeerReviewed Abdul Halim-Lim, Sarina and Mohamed, Khalisa and Muhammad Sukki, Firdaus and David, Wahyudi and Ungku Zainal Abidin, Ungku Fatimah and Jamaludin, Adi Ainurzaman (2023) Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers in restaurants in the Maldives. Sustainability, 15 (17). art. no. 12695. pp. 1-15. ISSN 2071-1050 https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202306.0703/v1 10.20944/preprints202306.0703.v1
spellingShingle Abdul Halim-Lim, Sarina
Mohamed, Khalisa
Muhammad Sukki, Firdaus
David, Wahyudi
Ungku Zainal Abidin, Ungku Fatimah
Jamaludin, Adi Ainurzaman
Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers in restaurants in the Maldives
title Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers in restaurants in the Maldives
title_full Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers in restaurants in the Maldives
title_fullStr Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers in restaurants in the Maldives
title_full_unstemmed Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers in restaurants in the Maldives
title_short Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers in restaurants in the Maldives
title_sort food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of food handlers in restaurants in the maldives
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108039/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108039/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/108039/