A Systematic Literature Review of Assessing the Level of Food Safety Knowledge Among Food Handlers in Malaysia

Abstract

Being knowledgeable about food safety is one of the strategies to address food-borne diseases (FBD). The systematic review was focuses on food safety knowledge and the respective interventions. Generally, numerous relevant studies have been done to determine the level of food safety knowledge among food handlers, but studies from a Malaysian perspective were limited. Therefore, the present study reviewed a number of previous studies regarding level of food safety knowledge and type of interventions that have been done among various categories of food handlers in Malaysia. For the review purpose, preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) was adopted based on Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. A total of 22 resulted from the searching and were analyzed systematically. The review of food safety knowledge was divided into three themes consisting of food handlers at premises, consumers, and students. The results of this review have identified the knowledge gap of food handlers, and the authors provide recommendations for future food safety education.