Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge and practice and Factors that may affect them among the General Population at Family Medicine Outpatient clinic

Abstract

Introduction: Foodborne diseases are considered a major health problem worldwide; knowledge and practice of consumers’ adherence to food safety practices will help them to take preventive cautions to protect themselves from the risks of foodborne illnesses. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study that aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of food safety awareness among Egyptian healthy adults attending family medicine outpatient clinics, Cairo University. The study involved 305 participants. Food safety knowledge and practice were evaluated by Food Safety reliable and valid questionnaire. Results: Only (0.3%) of participants had sufficient knowledge and (19.3%) had sufficient practice. There was a statistically significant difference between the studied participants regarding practice grade and education with (78%) of participants with sufficient practice being moderately or highly educated. Conclusion: We concluded from this study that the general community has insufficient food safety knowledge and practices; as a result, it is required to hold training programs in the form of workshops or to incorporate courses in the Ministry of Health’s curriculum . Key Words: food safety, knowledge, practice