Food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of restaurant food handlers in a lower-middle-income country.

Global research attention appears to be focused predominantly on self-reported than observed food safety practices. The purpose of this study was to determine the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported and observed practices of food handlers in 22 urban restaurants in Zimbabwe. A piloted questionnaire was used to gather qualitative data regarding socio-demographic variables, food safety knowledge (FSK), attitudes, and self-reported food handling practices (SRFHPs). A predesigned checklist was used to observe the food handling practices. FSK scores were significantly higher in food handlers who received basic food safety training compared to those who did not ( < .05). No differences in food safety knowledge and attitudes were noted based on the socio-demographic characteristics of the food handlers ( > .05). A significant positive correlation was observed between FSK and attitudes (  = 0.371,  < .05), FSK and SRFHPs (  = 0.242,  < 0.05), FSK and observed food handling practices (OFHPs) (  = 0.254,  < .05), attitudes and SRFPs (  = 0.229,  < .05), and attitudes and OFHPs (  = 0.263,  < .05). About half of the food handlers washed their hands in sinks meant for washing cutlery, 57% did not use approved hand drying methods, and 19.8% did not adequately thaw frozen foods. Food was commonly defrosted either under room temperature or using hot water (>45°C). Results suggest a need for mandatory basic and advanced training to improve the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices.