Microbial hazard and food safety perception among public on ready to eat street vendor food in Kuala Pilah / Ummu Khair Fazil

Changes in the socioeconomic status of many rising countries and the increase in the urban population have led to an increase in the number of people who consume street-vended food. Controlling and ensuring the safety of ready-to eat (RTE) street vended food become needs to be prioritized. The study was accomplished to evaluate the the perception among public on food safety knowledge based on microbial hazard awareness of street food in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a set of questionnaire that was adapted from previous study. Total of 375 individuals who consume ready-to eat (RTE) food were selected randomly from various locations of public attraction. Majority of the participants was married and half of the participants were younger than 37 years. Almost 84% of them had higher education. Participants between sub group in demographical characteristic significantly (p≤ 0.005) different in their response regarding their main reason buying RTE street vended food and their concerned about food borne that was causes by bacteria. Most of the participant aware on the certain food borne bacteria can causes disease that may lead to death however, more than half of the participants did never heard about Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter jejuni.. Some of the participants had doubt on safety of RTE street vended food bout but this not stop them from continuing to consume RTE street vended food. The awareness program or campaigns that been carried out by the responsible party should be more leave a permanent impression in the public about microbial hazard and food safety. Apart from the emphasis on the root cause of the disease, the effects and impact of these diseases should be emphasized as well.