Food Safety and Hygiene: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices among Food Handlers

Autor: Thandeka Nyawo, Hema Kesa, Eridiong Onyenweaku
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, Vol 10, Iss 2, Pp 547-558 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2223-814X
DOI: 10.46222/ajhtl.19770720-117
Popis: The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) aims at supplying nutritious supplementary meals to schoolchildren in order to improve education outcome by elevating learning ability, school attendance, and punctuality. However, in South Africa there is an increasing number of food poisoning reports, especially in schools under the NSNP. This study seeks to assess knowledge levels of food safety and hygiene practices among NSNP food handlers in Gauteng. A qualitative research approach employing a semi-structured individual interview process was used for data collection. The results showed that lack of education and knowledge was one of the reasons behind food handlers’ non-adherence to food safety and hygiene practices. The findings also revealed that training should be a requirement for food handlers under the NSNP, in order to prevent foodborne diseases and reduce pathogen spread (cross contamination) during food preparation. The findings of this study recommend that the NSNP strengthens training programmes, evaluation and monitoring measures as these are crucial for food safety.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals