Determining foodhandlers' food safety knowledge and practices at retail food outlets / Leoneeta Rozwen Hassan

The influx of tourists into Malaysia despite the economic downturn and the outbreak of H1N1 flu shows the increasing popularity of Malaysia as a tourist destination. With the increasing arrivals of tourists, it is expected that an increasing number of people will be patronizing food establishments. Hence, the safety and cleanliness of food being served should be the utmost priority for food establishments; especially the retail food industries as food poisoning cases in Malaysia have been on the rise over the past few years. This study explores the safety of eating in retail food outlets in Malaysia from the food handler's practices perspective. A total of 169 food handlers from 40 retail food outlets in Kuala Lumpur (KL; national capital) and Kota Kinabalu (KK; state capital) participated in the study. The aim was to determine their food safety knowledge and practices as well as to evaluate the kitchen area of food outlets. The result of this study revealed that food handlers from Kota Kinabalu scored better for food safety knowledge. Moreover, it was the food handlers from urban settings that reported better practices with mean rank value of 89.31 as compared to KK, a less urban area with mean rank value of 79.47. Observations of the kitchen area showed that the hygiene and safety level of eating in food outlets in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu ranges from satisfactory to good. Findings also confirmed that some of the areas that are more prone to food safety violations include time and temperature control, cross-contamination, washroom and hand washing facilities, and garbage bins/disposal.