Assessment of Food Safety Among Food Handlers at Restaurants of Suez Canal University

Background:- Food safety has become a major issue of public concern, Institutional foodborne illness outbreaks continue to hit the headlines in the country, indicating the failure of food handlers to adhere to safe practices during food preparation. Aim: to assess food safety among food handlers. Design: descriptive research design. Setting: Two restaurants at Suez Canal University. Sample: All food handlers in the two restaurants of Suez Canal University constituted the study population. Their total number were 86 workers. Tools: Two tools were used in the present study, the first tool was a questionnaire which included four parts: socio-demographic data, knowledge, attitude and practices related to food safety, the second tool was an observational checklist to assess safety kitchen environment and supplies. Results: The mean age of the participants was 43.2±9.7. Regarding their knowledge 52.3% of the studied group had poor knowledge regarding food safety while only 17.4% of them had fair knowledge. Regarding their practices 65.1% of the studied group had poor practice related to Keeping food at a safe temperature. Regarding their attitude only 39.5% of them think keeping the food cooked outside the fridge for more than two hours is not safe. The kitchens of the two restaurants were safe and had insufficient supplies by 41.03%. Conclusion: The food handlers had poor overall knowledge, good overall practices and positive overall attitude related to food safety and prevention of foodborne diseases. The kitchens of the two restaurants were safe and insufficient supplies. Recommendation: It is recommended therefore to conduct regular training courses for all food handlers as part of their continuous education.