Knowledge, attitude and practices of food safety amongst food handlers in the coastal resort of Guangdong, China

In order to identify risk factors contributing to foodborne disease outbreaks in Guangdong province, China, the present study evaluated the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of food safety among food handlers in a coastal resort area that has a high incidence of foodborne disease outbreaks from Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The KAP of 171 food handlers from 22 food establishmentsdincluding seven food establishments in which outbreaks had occurred and 15 in which outbreaks had not occurreddwere evaluated. A self-administered questionnaire designed to access the KAP of food safety was completed by the food handlers. The majority of respondents didn't know the maximum stored time at room temperature and the most common agent of foodborne disease in seafood. Most of the respondents' attitudes about food safety and training were positive. When asked about the practices undertaken, about one-fifth of the respondents admitted they had mixed food (raw and cooked) containers in varying degrees. There was significant variance among different food establishments, different ages, and different times of training. Training programs may achieve good results, but training should be more selective, educate the trainees to realize food safety is more important than fresh seafood, target how to cook seafood and lower the risk of microbiology in food, and conduct particularly focused training among managers and newcomers. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.