Food Hygiene Management among Food Handlers of Chitwan Nepal- Pre –Post Study Design

Abstract Background: Improper food handling practices are one of the major single causes of unsafe food, which can cause more than 200 diseases. Maintaining food hygiene largely depends on factors such as unhygienic practices, insufficient sanitation, inadequate cooking, improper storage, and cross-contamination which can be controlled by adequate knowledge and proper practice of food handlers. Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an awareness program on safe food handling practices among food handlers. Methods: A pre-post study was conducted in Chitwan district among 38 food handlers to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational intervention. G Power version 3.1.9.7 software is used to calculate sample size. The data collection tool was a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were entered using Epi-data 3.1 software and analysed using SPSS 16. The statistical analysis carried out was descriptive and bivariate (Wilcoxon Rank Test). Results: 68.4% of respondents were handling food without any formal education on food handling practices. 15.8% of café/restaurants were running without a license or registration. 52.6% of food handlers had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge in the pre-test, whereas none of them were included under this category in the post-test. The median (IQR) post-test was higher than the median (IQR) pre-test score, which was statistically significant by applying the Wilcoxon sign rank test (p = 0.001 ). Conclusions: Food hygiene management education for food handlers is an effective intervention for improving food hygiene knowledge and management. Food handler knowledge can be increased by encouraging food establishments/restaurants in various food safety education or training packages, thereby reducing foodborne outbreaks and food safety threats.