Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan

Sahar Munir; Syeda Hafsa Ali

doi:doi:10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14

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Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan

Sahar Munir, Syeda Hafsa Ali

Published in Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering (Volume 7, Issue 3)

Received: 11 June 2019 Accepted: 25 July 2019 Published: 12 August 2019

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Abstract

Foodborne diseases are increasing at an alarming rate in Pakistan. An increase in gastrointestinal disorder outbreaks has demanded implementation of hygiene and quality practices. Food can initiate epidemics and serves as a growth substrate for bacterial and other food poisoning agents. This study evaluates knowledge, attitudes, and practices among food handlers in maintaining food hygiene in Quetta city. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to highlight gaps in food safety knowledge among the population. Survey results reveal the need for consumer education regarding safe food handling practices. Respondents belonging to every sphere of life participated in this survey. Food safety knowledge, practices, and attitudes of food handlers indicate that food-handling problems are needed to be addressed. Our research showed that respondents were aware of hygienic practices before preparing and eating food. However, more than half of the respondents were unaware that Salmonella typhi is a foodborne pathogen. We found 74% of the male and 26% female food handlers were unaware of proper hygienic practices. More than 65% of respondents had poorly developed sewage system which floods during rainy seasons causing a rise in these diseases. Our survey revealed the need for consumer education regarding safe food handling practices from purchasing food to dealing with home. Unhygienic food preparation standards, unavailability of clean water as major factors of food poisoning in third world countries. Microbiologists should take the load to ensure proper knowledge about food pathogens. Continuous education and training can strengthen food handler’s knowledge in required areas.

Published in	Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering (Volume 7, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14
Page(s)	43-49
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Food Safety, Consumer Knowledge, Hygiene, Foodborne Outbreaks

References

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APA Style

Sahar Munir, Syeda Hafsa Ali. (2019). Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan. Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering, 7(3), 43-49. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14

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Sahar Munir; Syeda Hafsa Ali. Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan. Adv. BioSci. Bioeng. 2019, 7(3), 43-49. doi: 10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14

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AMA Style

Sahar Munir, Syeda Hafsa Ali. Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan. Adv BioSci Bioeng. 2019;7(3):43-49. doi: 10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14

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@article{10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14,
  author = {Sahar Munir and Syeda Hafsa Ali},
  title = {Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan},
  journal = {Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering},
  volume = {7},
  number = {3},
  pages = {43-49},
  doi = {10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.abb.20190703.14},
  abstract = {Foodborne diseases are increasing at an alarming rate in Pakistan. An increase in gastrointestinal disorder outbreaks has demanded implementation of hygiene and quality practices. Food can initiate epidemics and serves as a growth substrate for bacterial and other food poisoning agents. This study evaluates knowledge, attitudes, and practices among food handlers in maintaining food hygiene in Quetta city. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to highlight gaps in food safety knowledge among the population. Survey results reveal the need for consumer education regarding safe food handling practices. Respondents belonging to every sphere of life participated in this survey. Food safety knowledge, practices, and attitudes of food handlers indicate that food-handling problems are needed to be addressed. Our research showed that respondents were aware of hygienic practices before preparing and eating food. However, more than half of the respondents were unaware that Salmonella typhi is a foodborne pathogen. We found 74% of the male and 26% female food handlers were unaware of proper hygienic practices. More than 65% of respondents had poorly developed sewage system which floods during rainy seasons causing a rise in these diseases. Our survey revealed the need for consumer education regarding safe food handling practices from purchasing food to dealing with home. Unhygienic food preparation standards, unavailability of clean water as major factors of food poisoning in third world countries. Microbiologists should take the load to ensure proper knowledge about food pathogens. Continuous education and training can strengthen food handler’s knowledge in required areas.},
 year = {2019}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan
AU - Sahar Munir
AU - Syeda Hafsa Ali
Y1 - 2019/08/12
PY - 2019
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14
DO - 10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14
T2 - Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering
JF - Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering
JO - Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering
SP - 43
EP - 49
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2330-4162
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14
AB - Foodborne diseases are increasing at an alarming rate in Pakistan. An increase in gastrointestinal disorder outbreaks has demanded implementation of hygiene and quality practices. Food can initiate epidemics and serves as a growth substrate for bacterial and other food poisoning agents. This study evaluates knowledge, attitudes, and practices among food handlers in maintaining food hygiene in Quetta city. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to highlight gaps in food safety knowledge among the population. Survey results reveal the need for consumer education regarding safe food handling practices. Respondents belonging to every sphere of life participated in this survey. Food safety knowledge, practices, and attitudes of food handlers indicate that food-handling problems are needed to be addressed. Our research showed that respondents were aware of hygienic practices before preparing and eating food. However, more than half of the respondents were unaware that Salmonella typhi is a foodborne pathogen. We found 74% of the male and 26% female food handlers were unaware of proper hygienic practices. More than 65% of respondents had poorly developed sewage system which floods during rainy seasons causing a rise in these diseases. Our survey revealed the need for consumer education regarding safe food handling practices from purchasing food to dealing with home. Unhygienic food preparation standards, unavailability of clean water as major factors of food poisoning in third world countries. Microbiologists should take the load to ensure proper knowledge about food pathogens. Continuous education and training can strengthen food handler’s knowledge in required areas.
VL - 7
IS - 3
ER -

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Author Information

Sahar Munir

Department of Microbiology, Baluchistan University of Information and Technology Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta, Pakistan
Syeda Hafsa Ali

Department of Microbiology, Baluchistan University of Information and Technology Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta, Pakistan

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APA Style

Sahar Munir, Syeda Hafsa Ali. (2019). Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan. Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering, 7(3), 43-49. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14

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ACS Style

Sahar Munir; Syeda Hafsa Ali. Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan. Adv. BioSci. Bioeng. 2019, 7(3), 43-49. doi: 10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14

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AMA Style

Sahar Munir, Syeda Hafsa Ali. Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan. Adv BioSci Bioeng. 2019;7(3):43-49. doi: 10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14

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@article{10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14,
  author = {Sahar Munir and Syeda Hafsa Ali},
  title = {Assessing Awareness, Attitude, and Practice of Food Safety Among the Population of Quetta, Pakistan},
  journal = {Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering},
  volume = {7},
  number = {3},
  pages = {43-49},
  doi = {10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20190703.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.abb.20190703.14},
  abstract = {Foodborne diseases are increasing at an alarming rate in Pakistan. An increase in gastrointestinal disorder outbreaks has demanded implementation of hygiene and quality practices. Food can initiate epidemics and serves as a growth substrate for bacterial and other food poisoning agents. This study evaluates knowledge, attitudes, and practices among food handlers in maintaining food hygiene in Quetta city. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to highlight gaps in food safety knowledge among the population. Survey results reveal the need for consumer education regarding safe food handling practices. Respondents belonging to every sphere of life participated in this survey. Food safety knowledge, practices, and attitudes of food handlers indicate that food-handling problems are needed to be addressed. Our research showed that respondents were aware of hygienic practices before preparing and eating food. However, more than half of the respondents were unaware that Salmonella typhi is a foodborne pathogen. We found 74% of the male and 26% female food handlers were unaware of proper hygienic practices. More than 65% of respondents had poorly developed sewage system which floods during rainy seasons causing a rise in these diseases. Our survey revealed the need for consumer education regarding safe food handling practices from purchasing food to dealing with home. Unhygienic food preparation standards, unavailability of clean water as major factors of food poisoning in third world countries. Microbiologists should take the load to ensure proper knowledge about food pathogens. Continuous education and training can strengthen food handler’s knowledge in required areas.},
 year = {2019}
}

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