Ballout Rouba, Toufeili Imad, Kharroubi Samer A, Kassem Issmat I
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236, Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107-2020, Lebanon.
Center for Food Safety, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Foods. 2023 Dec 29;13(1):118. doi: 10.3390/foods13010118.
A key contributor to foodborne illnesses is consuming contaminated ready-to-eat foods, including raw meats. The latter is a common practice in Lebanon, a country that suffers from widespread pollution and food safety challenges. However, studies on the safety of raw meat consumption in Lebanon are limited. In this study, an attempt was made to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of the Lebanese population toward the potential risk associated with the consumption of raw meats, and to identify factors that affect KAP levels. An online survey ( = 577) was administered to Lebanese adults aged 18 years and above to assess their KAPs. The results showed that 74.5% of the participants consumed raw meat, 44% had good food safety knowledge, and 30.7% exhibited good practices. However, more than half of the participants (61.9%) showed a positive attitude toward food safety. There was a significant association between knowledge and attitude ( < 0.001), attitude and practices ( < 0.001), and knowledge and practices ( < 0.001), thereby indicating that an increase in food safety education could translate into better practices in this population. Accordingly, efforts to enhance education on food safety are warranted to reduce the potential risk of food poisoning associated with raw meat consumption in Lebanon.
食源性疾病的一个关键促成因素是食用受污染的即食食品，包括生肉。在黎巴嫩，食用生肉是一种常见的做法，该国面临广泛的污染和食品安全挑战。然而，关于黎巴嫩生肉消费安全性的研究有限。在本研究中，试图调查黎巴嫩民众对食用生肉潜在风险的知识、态度和行为（KAPs），并确定影响KAP水平的因素。对18岁及以上的黎巴嫩成年人进行了一项在线调查（n = 577），以评估他们的KAPs。结果显示，74.5%的参与者食用生肉，44%具备良好的食品安全知识，30.7%表现出良好的行为。然而，超过一半的参与者（61.9%）对食品安全持积极态度。知识与态度（p < 0.001）、态度与行为（p < 0.001）以及知识与行为（p < 0.001）之间存在显著关联，这表明食品安全教育的增加可以转化为该人群更好的行为。因此，有必要努力加强食品安全教育，以降低黎巴嫩与食用生肉相关的食物中毒潜在风险。
