Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Food Safety Hazards among Street Food Handlers towards Sustainability of Food Industry

Abstract

Street food is a prominent food industry that plays an important role, and represents most of the food culture in Asia and other developing countries. Monitoring food safety hazards (that is, physical, biological and chemical) is crucial for safeguarding, ensuring safety and preserving the sustainability of prolonged business. Food handlers play a key role in ensuring food safety throughout the food supply chain and reduces an alarming rate of foodborne illness (FBI). Hence, this study aims to identify the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of food safety hazard of street food in Kuala Dungun, Sura and Kuala Paka, Dungun, Terengganu. Simple random sampling method was used to select 76 participants and the data were gathered using semi-structured administrative questionnaires. Descriptive analyses were done with frequency and percentage scores and evaluated against a scale of poor (0–49%), fair (50–69%) and good (70% and above). The results revealed that the majority of responses show a good level of knowledge and attitude towards physical hazard among food handlers, while other questions on biological and chemical hazard were given fair and poor response. On the contrary, less than half of the questions answered show good practices on physical hazard, and much of the feedback shows poor and fair practices on biological and chemical hazard. Thus, government agencies, private companies, academicians and other experts should work together to increase awareness specifically on the poor aspect of KAP and work holistically towards sustainability of food safety and commercial trading of the food industry.