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Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Food Handlers in Restaurants in Malé, Maldives

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Halim-Lim, Sarina Abdul, Mohamed, Khalisa, Sukki, Firdaus Muhammad, David, Wahyudi, Ungku Zainal Abidin, Ungku Fatimah, Jamaludin, Adi Ainurzaman·2023·Sustainability
DOI 10.3390/su151712695
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Abstract

Poor hygiene in the food service industry is a critical public health concern in the Maldives, and is caused by several issues, such as limited inspections and monitoring, inadequate training and knowledge, and a lack of a regulatory framework. Thus, this study aims to identify the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of food handlers in the Maldives as well as the potential association between the variables (knowledge, attitude, and practice). A total of 290 food handlers from restaurants were surveyed for four months through a quantitative questionnaire; most of them are male, Bangladeshi, and aged 26–35 years old. The result demonstrates that the food handlers have an acceptable level of knowledge (55.5% ± 1.51), an acceptable attitude (3.62 ± 0.51), and a good level of practice (4.18 ± 0.54) in food safety. The food handlers in Malé have poor practices in time and temperature control, especially in thawing and storage, resulting from a lack of training in the temperature danger zone. Work experience influences the level of knowledge, education impacts attitude and training, and work experience and education impact practice. A positive moderate association was observed between knowledge and practices (rs = 0.536, p < 0.05), knowledge and attitudes (rs = 0.407, p < 0.05), and practices and attitudes (rs = 0.317, p < 0.05). Despite the good scores obtained in practices from the self-report questionnaire, the results of the observational assessment made on 102 restaurants exhibit overall poor practices, including deficient time and temperature control, and other categories of food safety need further attention in the design of training processes. This study can help policymakers to review and improve law enforcement to address the current food safety situation in the Maldives and can help businesses to selectively plan food safety training based on the KAPs of Maldivian food handlers.

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Metadata

Authors
Halim-Lim, S. A., Mohamed, K., Sukki, F. M., David, W., Ungku Zainal Abidin, U. F., & Jamaludin, A. A.
Affiliations
  • Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
  • Food Control Division, Maldives Food and Drug Authority, Ministry of Health, Malé 20184, Maldives
  • School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh EH10 5DT, UK
  • Bakrie University (ID)
  • Department of Food Service and Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
  • University of Malaya (MY)
Corresponding author
Mohamed, Khalisa
ORCID
Venue
Sustainability
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2023-08-22
Volume
15
Issue
17
Pages
12695
ISSN
2071-1050 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/su151712695
OpenAlex
W4386073954
Cited by
25
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2
FWCI
3.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Sustainability (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Preprints.org (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • Edinburgh Napier Research Repository (Edinburgh Napier University) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • Universiti Putra Malaysia Institutional Repository (Universiti Putra Malaysia) (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (FRGS/1/2022/SS02/UPM/02/1)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food Safety and Hygiene
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Salmonella and Campylobacter epidemiology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Infection Control in Healthcare
Keywords
food safety, food handlers, knowledge, attitudes and practices, restaurants, food hygiene, food safety training, work experience, educational attainment, food safety regulation

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Food Handlers in Restaurants in Malé, Maldives. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.3390/su151712695
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Halim-Lim, S. A., Mohamed, K., Sukki, F. M., David, W., Ungku Zainal Abidin, U. F., & Jamaludin, A. A. (2023). Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Food Handlers in Restaurants in Malé, Maldives. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712695