Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of food allergies among food handlers in the state of Penang, Malaysia.
OBJECTIVE
Food handler's knowledge, attitude and practice regarding food allergies are important to prevent debilitating and sometimes fatal reactions. This study aimed to assess their food allergy knowledge, attitude and practice, which could help to maintain the safety and hygiene of food consumed by the public.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey involving 121 conveniently sampled (81.76% response rate) respondents among the food handlers in the state of Penang, Malaysia, was conducted using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Their knowledge, attitude and work practice were captured using a 37-item questionnaire that elicited their responses using a mixture of closed-ended and Likert scale techniques.


RESULTS
The mean knowledge score for respondents was 50.23 (SD = 14.03), attitude score was 54.26 (SD = 11.67) and practice score was 45.90 (SD = 24.78). Only 1.79% of the respondents were considered to have excellent knowledge, 21.37% had a low risk practice and 4.27% had positive attitudes towards food allergies. Most of the respondents (70%) knew about food allergies and their seriousness. There was a statistically significant correlation between the attitude and practice of respondents (r = 0.51). The type of establishment was the only characteristic significantly associated (P < 0.05) with food handler allergy knowledge, attitude and practice.


CONCLUSIONS
More than half of food handlers in Penang have moderate levels of food allergy knowledge, practice and attitude. Only a small proportion of them have excellent food allergy knowledge, practice and attitude. Integration of food allergy training into compulsory food safety training programmes is needed to reduce food allergy risks and prevent fatal allergic reactions to food among their customers.
Discipline of Social & Administrative Pharmacy, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia; Pendita Consulting, 59 Lorong Pondok Upih 3, Taman Nyaman Indah, 11000 Penang, Malaysia. Electronic address: aakmal@usm.my.
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Shafie
Pendita Consulting, 59 Lorong Pondok Upih 3, Taman Nyaman Indah, 11000 Penang, Malaysia.
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Azman
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005511:Food Handling; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity; D059022:Food Safety; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
Attitude; Food allergy; Food handler; Knowledge; Malaysia