Assessment of food safety knowledge and practices among female canteen food handlers: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Improper handling of food during preparation and serving is one of the major causes of food hygiene issues. Objectives: This cross-sectional study was conducted using a total population sampling method and aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practices of food service workers regarding the principles of food safety at the food court in Women's only University. Materials and methods: Data were collected using a questionnaire by interviewing 118 workers at the food court and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The questionnaire included demographic information, education and training related questions and food safety awareness questions. Results: Food service workers scored 42.15 on the food safety awareness questionnaire, while the mean score was 9.69 (80.8%) for the knowledge-based questions, 9.37 (85.2%) for health and personal hygiene, 2.91 (72.8%) for cleaning and disinfection category and 20.18 (74.7%) for attitudes and temperature control related questions and statistically significant and positive correlations were noted among all four assessed domains. Conclusion: University should implement structured and frequent training programs for all food handlers focusing on cleaning, sanitization, and temperature. Additionally, routine supervision should also be enforced. Longitudinal and interventional studies including both males and females across different regions of Saudi Arabia are required to evaluate the long-term efficacy of food safety policies and training programs.