Factors interfering with the adoption of good hygiene practices in public school food services in Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to identify factors that interfere with the adoption of good hygiene practices in public school food services (SFS) in Bahia, Brazil. The search was conducted in public schools in Bahia/Brazil. Data collection included (i) evaluation of the adoption of Good Practices in school food services through visual observation and registration in the checklist in Good Hygienic Practices in School Food Services; (ii) Identification of schools' foodservice physical areas and environmental comfort measures; (iii) identification of sociodemographic and occupational characteristics and assessment of attitudes and level of knowledge in food hygiene. The minimum sample of schools (confidence level of % and an error of %) was stratified considering the total number of districts (areas) and the schools' number per area. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Science-SPSS ® in version . . The categorical variables were described as frequencies and percentages, and the quantitative variables as mean and standard deviation. Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis with Tukey's post-hoc tests were used to examine qualitative variables. Independent Student t-test and ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc tests were used to examine quantitative variables. Categorical variables were evaluated by Pearson Chi-squared tests. The Pearson test was used to analyze the correlation between Attitude and knowledge. The classification of the sanitary status was of moderate risk in . % (n = ) of the SFS ( -% of compliance) and . % (n = ) at high risk ( -% compliance). The average percentage of compliance for the SFS in the municipality was . %, obtaining a high-risk classification ( -% compliance). In the SFS, the absence of dry goods' storage, meat preparation area, and storage of residues in more than % of schools was observed.

What motivates food workers to adhere with WHO guidelines to combat the COVID-19? A social cognitive theory perspective

“…Our survey revealed that near half of the knowledge of hygiene practices is poorly understood by food workers, which implies that the knowledge of food handling possessed by professionals who handle food is significantly inadequate. This result is similar to the results of Habte et al (5) survey on food handlers' knowledge in Ethiopia (mean correct rate = 58.4%) and Olaimat et al (32) survey on food handlers' knowledge in Jordan, but lower than the results of Ferreira et al (13) survey on food workers in Brazil (mean correct rate = 72.2%). Two possible reasons for the inconsistency are that the knowledge measurement items differ, and the other is that Ferreira et al (13) study only targeted food workers in public school food services, who, since food safety in schools is of great concern, may have more training.…”

“…This result is similar to the results of Habte et al (5) survey on food handlers' knowledge in Ethiopia (mean correct rate = 58.4%) and Olaimat et al (32) survey on food handlers' knowledge in Jordan, but lower than the results of Ferreira et al (13) survey on food workers in Brazil (mean correct rate = 72.2%). Two possible reasons for the inconsistency are that the knowledge measurement items differ, and the other is that Ferreira et al (13) study only targeted food workers in public school food services, who, since food safety in schools is of great concern, may have more training. Moreover, knowledge was also identified as a significant promoter of worker adherence to hygiene practices, which is consistent with the (12).…”

“…Environmental factors in this study refer to facilities adequacy in the working site. Furthermore, this was confirmed that there were significant differences between food workers' practices under different demographic variables (5,13). Thus, the effects of demographic variables were examined to better understand the drivers of adherence to WHO-initiated hygiene practices.…”

“…Relevant studies after the outbreak, however, are limited, especially the lack of studies on Chinese food workers. Existing research is mostly focused on the effects of knowledge, attitudes, and demographic variables ( 5 , 13 , 14 ). However, many studies have confirmed that while knowledge and attitude exert influence on behavior formation, it has also been determined that individuals with knowledge and positive attitudes do not necessarily act accordingly, i.e., there exists knowledge–behavior gap and attitude-behavior gap ( 15 , 16 ).…”