A Study of Food Handlers in Public Food Establishments in Maharashtra, India

OBJECTIVES: To study socio-demographic profile, health status and level of hygiene in food handlers. METHODS: The present cross sectional study was carried out among 70 food handlers working in public food establishments in Miraj. The food establishments were selected by a randomized sampling technique. From each hotel 5 participants were selected randomly. The handlers were assessed for their socio-demographic profile using a questionnaire interview method. General examination was done on the participant to assess the health status. RESULTS: It was found that majority of food handlers in the age group of 15-30 years (68 %), Male (79 %), Hindus (92 %).90 % of the food handlers had education level of less than 10th standard or were illiterate.20 % of the food handlers reported some form of infection or disease. CONCLUSION: The study showed that majority of food handlers were from within the state (80 %) and predominantly males of the productive age group. Since there were low education levels among the handlers there is a probability that they have poor knowledge of food safety measures. The study showed that the most common diseases among the food handlers were respiratory illnesses.