Food Safety Practices and Associated Factors in Food Operators: A Cross-Sectional Survey in the Students’ Cafeteria of Woldia University, North Eastern Ethiopia
Silamlak Birhanu Abegaz
Abstract
The food safety issue is often overlooked in countries where food shortages, natural disasters, political tensions, and other major concerns dominate government and media agendas. As a result, the current study sought to assess food safety practices and associated factors among food handlers at Woldia University’s student cafeteria. An institutional cross-sectional study was conducted between May and July 2021, and a sample of 291 subjects was recruited through a simple random sampling technique. Questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews, and observation methods were used as data collection tools. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 software. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to determine the effect of various factors on the outcome variable and control for confounding effects. <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <a:mi>p</a:mi> <a:mo><</a:mo> <a:mn>0.05</a:mn> </a:math> was considered statistically significant. However, some variables are significant even at <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"> <c:mi>p</c:mi> <c:mo><</c:mo> <c:mn>0.001</c:mn> </c:math> . The results were described by frequencies and percentages. The current study found that the factors of not having had food hygiene training ( <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"> <e:mtext>AOR</e:mtext> <e:mo>=</e:mo> <e:mn>2.111</e:mn> </e:math> , 95% <g:math xmlns:g="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"> <g:mtext>CI</g:mtext> <g:mo>=</g:mo> <g:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <g:mrow> <g:mn>1.029</g:mn> <g:mo>−</g:mo> <g:mn>4.428</g:mn> </g:mrow> </g:mfenced> </g:math> ), less than or equal to one year of work experience ( <k:math xmlns:k="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"> <k:mtext>AOR</k:mtext> <k:mo>=</k:mo> <k:mn>3.070</k:mn> </k:math> , 95% <m:math xmlns:m="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"> <m:mtext>CI</m:mtext> <m:mo>=</m:mo> <m:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <m:mrow> <m:mn>2.020</m:mn> <m:mo>−</m:mo> <m:mn>10.246</m:mn> </m:mrow> </m:mfenced> </m:math> ), poor knowledge ( <q:math xmlns:q="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M7"> <q:mtext>AOR</q:mtext> <q:mo>=</q:mo> <q:mn>1.285</q:mn> </q:math> , 95% <s:math xmlns:s="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M8"> <s:mtext>CI</s:mtext> <s:mo>=</s:mo> <s:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <s:mrow> <s:mn>0.125</s:mn> <s:mo>−</s:mo> <s:mn>0.849</s:mn> </s:mrow> </s:mfenced> </s:math> ) and poor attitude ( <w:math xmlns:w="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M9"> <w:mtext>AOR</w:mtext> <w:mo>=</w:mo> <w:mn>1.190</w:mn> </w:math> , 95% <y:math xmlns:y="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M10"> <y:mtext>CI</y:mtext> <y:mo>=</y:mo> <y:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <y:mrow> <y:mn>1.361</y:mn> <y:mo>−</y:mo> <y:mn>9.393</y:mn> </y:mrow> </y:mfenced> </y:math> ), not keeping cooked food at a safe temperature ( <cb:math xmlns:cb="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M11"> <cb:mtext>AOR</cb:mtext> <cb:mo>=</cb:mo> <cb:mn>3.037</cb:mn> </cb:math> , 95% <eb:math xmlns:eb="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M12"> <eb:mtext>CI</eb:mtext> <eb:mo>=</eb:mo> <eb:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <eb:mrow> <eb:mn>1.021</eb:mn> <eb:mo>−</eb:mo> <eb:mn>12.096</eb:mn> </eb:mrow> </eb:mfenced> </eb:math> ), failure to respect the safety of cooking utensils and surfaces ( <ib:math xmlns:ib="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M13"> <ib:mtext>AOR</ib:mtext> <ib:mo>=</ib:mo> <ib:mn>2.022</ib:mn> </ib:math> , 95% <kb:math xmlns:kb="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M14"> <kb:mtext>CI</kb:mtext> <kb:mo>=</kb:mo> <kb:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <kb:mrow> <kb:mn>1.551</kb:mn> <kb:mo>−</kb:mo> <kb:mn>9.689</kb:mn> </kb:mrow> </kb:mfenced> </kb:math> ), insufficient cleanliness of eating areas ( <ob:math xmlns:ob="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M15"> <ob:mtext>AOR</ob:mtext> <ob:mo>=</ob:mo> <ob:mn>2.430</ob:mn> </ob:math> , 95% <qb:math xmlns:qb="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M16"> <qb:mtext>CI</qb:mtext> <qb:mo>=</qb:mo> <qb:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <qb:mrow> <qb:mn>1.983</qb:mn> <qb:mo>−</qb:mo> <qb:mn>6.217</qb:mn> </qb:mrow> </qb:mfenced> </qb:math> ), not covering hair when cooking food ( <ub:math xmlns:ub="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M17"> <ub:mtext>AOR</ub:mtext> <ub:mo>=</ub:mo> <ub:mn>5.903</ub:mn> </ub:math> , 95% <wb:math xmlns:wb="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M18"> <wb:mtext>CI</wb:mtext> <wb:mo>=</wb:mo> <wb:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <wb:mrow> <wb:mn>2.243</wb:mn> <wb:mo>−</wb:mo> <wb:mn>9.621</wb:mn> </wb:mrow> </wb:mfenced> </wb:math> ), and not washing hands before starting to handle food ( <ac:math xmlns:ac="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M19"> <ac:mtext>AOR</ac:mtext> <ac:mo>=</ac:mo> <ac:mn>10.019</ac:mn> </ac:math> , 95% <cc:math xmlns:cc="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M20"> <cc:mtext>CI</cc:mtext> <cc:mo>=</cc:mo> <cc:mfenced open="(" close=")"> <cc:mrow> <cc:mn>4.031</cc:mn> <cc:mo>−</cc:mo> <cc:mn>24.063</cc:mn>