Food Safety Practices of Food Handlers in China and their Correlation with Self-reported Foodborne Illness

• Published in: Journal of food protection 2024-01, Vol.87 (1), p.100202-100202, Article 100202
• Main Authors: Chen, Yujuan, Wan, Gaihong, Song, Jiangen, Dai, Jiajia, Shi, Wei, Wang, Lei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: China; China - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Food handlers; Food Handling; Food Safety; Food service facilities; Food-safety practices; Foodborne Diseases - epidemiology; Foodborne Diseases - prevention & control; Humans; Self Report; Self-reported foodborne diseases
• ISSN: 0362-028X; 1944-9097
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100202

•Incidence of self-reported foodborne disease among food handlers in catering units was 8.2%.•Poor food safety practice was prevalent among food handlers in catering locations.•Incorrect food cleaning was a risk behavior related to self-reported foodborne disease.•Not storing cold dishes in the refrigerator was related to self-reported foodborne disease.•Keeping food at 8–60°C for >2 h indoors was related to self-reported foodborne disease. Food service facilities are important sites where foodborne diseases have been reported to occur frequently. This study aims to determine the correlation between self-reported foodborne diseases and food-safety practices followed by food handlers of various food service facilities. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March 1, 2022 to December 30, 2022 in Wuhu City, Anhui Province, China. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and having the selected food handlers fill in a self-compiled questionnaire. Of the 1072 food handlers included in the study, 88 (8.2%) reported having experienced symptoms of foodborne diseases in the past 4 weeks. The following food-safety practices correlated with self-reported foodborne diseases: (1) infrequently using 3-compartment sinks to separately clean different types of raw food materials (P