An assessment of the impact of Knowledge, Attitude & Practices of Food Handlers On Consumers’ Safety Aspect – A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Abstract

Out of the various illnesses of human beings, Food-borne illnesses are one of the most hazardous ones and have been recognized for many years. There is a very little research have been done on finding causes of food safety diseases and monitoring systems. The present study was therefore conducted across various food service outlets in Eastern India to investigate relationships between food handlers’ knowledge, attitude and food safety practices that influence on food handlers’ intention to implement food safety guidelines regularly. A face to face interview consisting self-reported questionnaire was conducted on 277 food handlers those are working in various food outlets such as University canteens, Hospitals, small kiosks and passed out hospitality management students those are currently employed and responsible for handling food in hotels, in Kolkata city, India. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and descriptive statistics were used. Results of the analysis revealed knowledge and practices have moderate direct effect on food handlers’ intention to food safety (f2 = 0.14, and 0.14 respectively), whereas attitude has weaker effect (f2 = 0.08).  There is a lesser impact of attitude on overall food safety intention. It does not always imply the negligence of the food handlers. Many times, the restaurant/ establishment owners and supervisors control or influence the attitude of the Food Handlers. Hence they are equally responsible for the food safety and the attitude of the Food Handlers while handling food. Therefore, it is recommended that the concerning Food Regulatory bodies make occasional and surprise visits to the different food service outlets to ensure food safety practices are properly implemented.