The Special Dietary Needs of Pilgrims and Practices of Agencies Regarding Food Quality and Safety During the Hajj

Abstract

It is necessary to take the pilgrims' dietary needs into consideration to avoid the complication of health especially chronic diseases, which will lead to reduce expenditure on health services. This study aimed to explore the availability of special meals that are provided to pilgrims according to their health condition, highlight the Hajj agencies’ practices with regard to food quality and safety for pilgrims and investigate the prevalence of the diseases requiring special diets among pilgrims. A cross-sectional study design was used. The data was collected via an online questionnaire. This study included 394 pilgrims who attended Hajj at least once from 2015-2019. About 20% suffered from chronic diseases; the most common: hypertension, diabetes and allergy. 15.7% required a special diet. There was an increase in the healthy method of meal preparation, the amount of water and vegetables/fruit, however, unhealthy sweets too. About 82% were overall satisfied with services; there were significant associations between it and some parameters: such as specified meal times, cleanness of eating place, utensils and hygiene of workers. In conclusion, most agencies did not provide special meals. It is important to take into consideration the calorie, nutrients and safety of food. This study recommends pre-Hajj electronic orders of meals due to health condition and using meal vending machines.