Food hygiene, safety, handling practices and knowledge of food handlers in a food retail company in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Authors:   , Sibisi Anele Sinethemba 
Published: June 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the food hygiene, food safety, food handling practices and knowledge of Food Handlers in a food retail company in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in order to inform management on the knowledge of the Food Handlers in the company of the standards of food hygiene, food safety, and food handling practices. The objective was to determine and describe the knowledge of food hygiene and safety versus the standard of the observed food hygiene, safety and handling practices demonstrated by the Food Handlers in the particular establishments. Literature suggests that there is a direct correlation between knowledge and performance with regard to the food hygiene and safety standards that would exist in an establishment (Seaman 2010). This study attempted to draw a correlation between the managers/supervisors (Mngrs/Sups) knowledge and that of the Food Handlers (FHs) as it was of particular interest, in order to verify the assumptions made by other researchers with regard to management/supervisory knowledge being linked to the level of food knowledge and practices demonstrated by the Food Handlers (Medeiros, Cavalli, Salay, and Proenca 2011). The research was conducted in 20 food service establishments that belonged to the same food retail company in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. This food retail company has about 150 stores which practice voluntary trading. The company has a very solid food safety policy which is made available to the owners of each establishment to implement and maintain. Quarterly food safety audits by an external company are carried out at each establishment and the results are shared with the owners in order to close any gaps that may exist. This research aims to provide data that will report on the food safety standards in each establishment as assumed by the company to be practised. The sample was randomly selected (all the names of the stores were put into a container and randomly selected) based on the establishment category i.e. mini market, super market and hyper store. Ethical approval was granted by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee at Durban University of Technology. The total sample for the study was 250 which was made up of 234 Food Handlers and 16 managers/supervisors. Information letters and consent forms were presented to and signed by the participants before data collection commenced. The study design was observational and descriptive by nature. To determine the food hygiene, food safety, food handling practices and knowledge of Food Handlers, two questionnaires were administered and an observation checklist was administered. All data collection was quantitative and all participation was voluntary. A permission letter was obtained from the company which was used to grant the researcher entry into the establishments but access was dependent on permission being given by the owners of the selected establishments. Data obtained from this questionnaire was captured on a Microsoft Excel® Spreadsheet and analysed for descriptive statistics using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 24. The majority of the workforce was made up of females at both management and food handler level (75.0%; n=12 and 74.8%; n=175 respectively). The study group was predominately aged 30 years and older with the majority having grade 12 as the highest level of education. Noticeably, not all of the managers and FHs were trained upon appointment although the company has a solid food safety induction resource programme that is made available and distributed to each establishment. The food safety training module focuses on all aspects of food safety but since not all the respondents were trained on all the 12 modules, they displayed greater knowledge in selected areas and less in others; for instance, greater knowledge was shared about personal hygiene compared to record keeping, temperature recording and pest control, which are critical elements in ensuring food safety. To support this finding, unexpectedly 25.0% (n=4) of Mngrs/Sups and 47.0% (n=110) of the FHs stated that according to their knowledge thawing frozen food on the counter at room temperature was acceptable. This demonstrated that almost half of the FHs did not know that it is important to prevent bacteria present in food from multiplying in order to eliminate food poisoning. Additionally, the practice of thawing/defrosting food at room temperature was observed at most of the establishments but mostly at the Hyper stores. Furthermore, the vast majority of FHs knew that food should not be handled when they are suffering from any type of health problem, but 7.3% (n=17) stated that when they are suffering from the flu, and are coughing and sneezing, they are still permitted to handle food which assumes that it does not pose a risk to food safety whereas all the Mngrs/Sups knew that illness should not be permitted in the food production areas. Some FHs even stated that they would come to work sick otherwise they would not be paid. Almost all (n=15; 93.8%) of the Mngrs/Sups correctly stated that wiping cloths spread microorganisms but not all of the Mngrs/Sups knew that wiping cloths should be placed in a sanitizer bucket in-between use. This indicates a lack of knowledge with regard to food safety hazard preventative measures. Some of the FHs did not know that not all chemical cleaning products are graded as being effective in a food production/preparation environment and that general cleaning removes dirt only while sanitizing surfaces also kills bacteria. More than half of the FHs incorrectly stated that it was acceptable to leave mops and brushes in a bucket of dirty water in-between use which was an unacceptable practice prevalent in most of the establishments. The vast majority (93.8%; n=15 Mngrs/Sups, 93.2%; n=218 FHs) of the respondents agreed that food that has reached its expiry date should be thrown away but the researcher found during the observations that some of the establishments had expired stock that was being used in food preparation, and this was mostly evident at the Hyper stores (80.0%; n=4); however, at the Mini stores the expired stock was still on the shelves for sale. A shortage of utilities, resources and facilities in the various establishments was highlighted as a stumbling block to obtaining and achieving the desired food safety standards. Some establishments were under new ownership and were still establishing food safety structures. The outcomes of the study will be made available to the management of the food retail stores in the hope that the standards of food safety in each establishment will be improved as an unfortunate food incident will tarnish the brand image of the organization and not just the particular establishment.