title: Safety of patient meals in 2 hospitals in Alexandria, Egypt before and after training of food handlers.
abstract: We assessed the food safety knowledge and food handling practices of 23 food handlers in 2 hospitals in Alexandria, Egypt [Gamal Abdel Nasser (GAN) and Medical Research Institute (MRI)] before and after a food safety training programme, and also the bacteriological quality of patient meals and kitchen equipment. There was a significant improvement in all knowledge-associated parameters except for personal hygiene in GAN. There was an improvement in the food safety practices in both hospitals. The bacteriological quality of most patient meals and food preparation surfaces and utensils improved after training. The bacteriological quality of patients' meals served in GAN was generally better than that in MRI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Food Hygiene and Control, High Institute of Public Health, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: El Derea
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salem
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fawzi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdel Azeem
mesh_terms: D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004534:Egypt; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005521:Food Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D015397:Program Evaluation; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires