People’s Attitudes Towards Food Safety: Influence on Health Promotion

Attitudes and Practices, Knowledge concerning Food Safety in Institutions Including the Responsibilities of Food Handlers

Food safety is regarded as providing a crucial service to the public. Of utmost importance is the protection of food from contamination, especially in places where food is prepared on a large scale and served frequently. Food contamination during preparation or cooking in hospitals and schools, during service in restaurants and through caterers, is a common phenomenon where food handlers are at the center of it all. The article highlights the role of knowledge, attitudes and practices related to food safety among institutional food handlers and the public health burden associated with them.

The Importance of Food Safety Knowledge in Institutions

Knowing so much of the food safety principles is great but if the food handlers are only trained on hygiene, then they will not be able to be food safety compliant, especially at the level of institutions.

Foodborne disease is an illness that happens as a result of consuming food or drinking beverages that may be infected with a disease- causing organism such as parasites, bacteria or viruses. World Health Organization estimates that every year nearly one in every ten individuals across the globe suffers from a disease as a result of consuming food that is contaminated. The chances of getting a foodborne illness are greater in facilities like places of worship, daycare centers, retirement communities, hospitals, educational institutions, restaurants, and others where a lot of different kinds of meals are cooked and offered to large groups which may have sensitive individuals, children, elderly people, and patients in hospitals.

There is a lot to learn for the food handlers of institutions and various concepts of food safety are among those concepts which they need to learn such as:

1. Temperature Control: The ability to maintain an appropriate temperature throughout the storage, preparation and distribution of food is important and must be always attained. It is in the range of 40°F – 140°F (4°C – 60°C) at which most bacteria become active and could pose a danger to food safety. Thus, if food handlers understand the need of keeping everything at range with 140°F or above for hot food and below 40°F for cold food, the spread of bacteria could be contained.
2. Cross-Contamination Prevention: Cross-contamination arises through the process of transferring bacteria or harmful pathogens from surface to surface or from one food item to another. This can take place through utensils, a chopping board or hands that have the bacteria or pathogens. A key aspect of how to avoid cross-contamination to raw or cooked foods, so as to always observe food safety measures for instance, raw meat always stays apart from vegetables or other cooked food.
3. Hand Hygiene: Handwashing seems an easy task however it is an effective technique of minimizing foodborne diseases. Following bare/hygiene rules food handlers should wash their hands whenever necessary, especially after consuming raw food, using the bathroom or any surface that is suspected to have germs. Basic rules of effective hand hygiene are: wash with soap and water with active friction for minimum of 20 seconds.
4. Personal Hygiene: It is also important for food handlers to maintain clean clothing and proper use of clean gloves, hairnets, and aprons. While sick, one should follow the principle of not touching food as this could reduce the risk of infecting others.
5. Sanitation: It is vital to maintain high standards of cleanliness and hygiene in areas where food is prepared. Regularly washing and sanitizing surfaces such as countertops and several spooning, cooking or serving equipment minimizes the chances of invasion by disease causing organisms.

Yet mere knowledge of food safety concepts does not guarantee the safety of food. The beliefs and practices of food handlers are equally responsible on how these basic concepts of food safety are practiced.

The Role of Attitudes Toward Food Safety

Attitudes toward food safety greatly influence the effectiveness of food safety practices. Individuals exhibiting positive concerns towards food safety are most probably going to implement safety practices while those with negative attitudes are more likely to be negligent in their duties thereby heightening the chances of food-borne incidences.

An individual’s positive perspective about food safety embodies the conviction of knowing that food safety expectations should be met in every instance and every procedure must be performed at the highest degree of cleanliness and safety. Food handlers with a good attitude towards food safety will more likely:

• Frequently make use of gloves and wash their hands as required and when they should.
• Comply with the appropriate temperatures during the storage and cooking of foods.
• Make sure that the surfaces and utensils employed have undergone adequate sanitation procedures.
• Take the necessary steps to ensure food safety and avoid unnecessary dangers such as eating food past its expiration date and failing to properly clean food preparation areas.

On the other hand, food handlers with a negative attitude towards food safety are likely to violate the guidelines by avoiding hand washing, operating with dirty tools, or careless handling of food. These negligent tendencies can facilitate the risk of food being infected which may ultimately lead to disease outbreaks.

The following are some of the factors that affect the attitudes of food handlers towards food safety:

1. Training and Education: Food handlers who are well trained and takes regular education tend to have an attitude that is right concerning food safety. Having knowledge of the risks of improper food handling practices makes them more inclined to take preventive measures.
2. Management Support: Cross institutional food handlers are likely to practice food safety measures when they believe that management has a positive attitude towards preservation of safety of food. If the management let me be a role model by providing resources, food safety will be integrated in food service operations through scheduling of meetings to discuss relevant issues, sending out of reminders, and enforcement of operational rules.
3. Cultural and Social Norms: There are places like in some regions or workplaces where there are cultural or social practices that contribute to the non-adherence of food safety standards. Changing these cultural norms is a challenge that calls for a change in the culture of the organization which will promote safe food handling practices.
4. Personal Accountability: One of the components which assists in developing a desirable behavior is creating a sense of personal accountability. In instances when food workers understand that they are the key role players in ensuring food safety, they tend to be more careful.

From Understanding to Taking Food Safety into Practice

We know that correct knowledge and sanitary attitudes are significant but we have to bear in mind that it is the consistent observance and correct application of food safety practices which translates into safe food. A very good knowledge of best practices and sanitary attitudes may not make a difference if food handlers do not practice what they know.

Best Practitioners of food hygiene include:

1. Hand washing on a constant basis: The importance of hands in food safety cannot be overemphasized. Hand washing should be undertaken with soap and warm water for a minimum of 20 seconds prior to any food handling, after going to the toilet or in contact with any outside surface or any other items that may be exposed to contamination.
2. Correct food storage: Foods need to be safely stored so that they do not contaminate each other. There is an effective technique to stay free of cross-contamination by keeping raw foods like meat separated from ready cooked dishes. Plus, food storage places need to be fresh, clean, plus kept at the needed cold temperature to preclude bacterial exposure.
3. Maintaining the cooking temperatures of food items at a safe level: It is essential for food handlers to have an understanding of the minimum cooking temperatures needed for different food items. For example, chicken meat must be cooked until the internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit, or 74 degrees Celsius. \To ease the strain of achieving these temperatures, cooks may use food thermometers. This lawfully answers the question of how long a prepared dish should be cooked.
4. Food Area Sanitization: It is crucial to routinely clean and disinfect the kitchens to mitigate the chances of food contamination. This involves scrubbing sinks, countertops, cutting boards, utensils, and any other kitchen tools and items with soap and water, and then applying different sanitizing chemicals.
5. Personal Hygiene: Workers such as food handlers and chefs must maintain cleanliness standards at all times. This relates to the wearing of workplace attire, not touching food using bare hands, or not cooking if the hands have blisters or cuts. Apart from that, any food worker who may be feeling unwell should not come into the kitchen to avoid contamination of the food.

Relationship of food and safety with the general population

The practices and behaviors of individuals who work in an institution feeding program have an effect on the population as a whole. If there is no adherence to food safety protocols, outbreaks of diseases especially foodborne diseases will occur disrupting a population group, more so children, the elderly, and immune-compromised individuals. These diseases also carry severe health risks, including admission to the hospital or, in the most serious situations, death.

For instance, food that is not prepared correctly can worsen the already ill people in hospitals. Elderly and children, whose immune systems are more relatively weaker, are the population group at the highest risk of getting infected with foodborne pathogens, which makes food safety even more important.

In educational and childcare centers, outbreaks of food-related diseases can interfere with learning and cause mass dropout. Likewise, one case of a food-borne illness in a food establishment can tarnish its image and attract litigations.

Therefore, food safety practices related to knowledge, perception and general practice of food handlers leave no doubt about the safety of the public. Institutions have to put resources towards the training and continuous education of food handlers, and nurture the spirit of hygiene and accountability.

Conclusion

The Journey Towards Improved Food Safety Procedures

Dietary security is not only a concern regarding the personal safety of food consumers, but it is in a group where food handlers, food managers, other food related institutions, and community come together to address the sector technology for sustaining food safety and hygiene. In this context, institutions have a role to play, for instance, if they ensure that food handlers are trained, they hold the right attitudes towards food and practice safe food handling, such institutions can prevent many cases of foodborne diseases.

In addition, it is critical to emphasize the beneficial practice of managers and supervisors monitoring the culture of food safety, conducting constant training sessions and food safety audits. The food sector poses a more substantial risk to the health of the public, thus being concerned about these issues, malvalates setting of trust on institutions, knowing that, the meals served are healthy and safe for every individual.