Ishra Rakia, Khanam Rasheda, Soar Jeffrey, Sharif Saif
University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Qld, 4350, Australia.
Food Control. 2023 Jun 28:109945. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2023.109945.
The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped every aspect of life, including food safety. Understanding food safety behaviour at home is necessary for developing effective strategies to mitigate foodborne disease during and after this pandemic. This study administered a cross-sectional survey among 503 domestic food handlers to examine the food handlers' food safety concerns during the pandemic and pandemic-related knowledge and hygiene behaviour (PRKHB) in Bangladesh. The results found that only 35.8% of respondents in this study were more concerned about food safety because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the results found a good PRKHB among 95.8% of urban food handlers, overall, 62% showed a poor level of PRKHB. Only 38.8% reported washing their hands after returning home or preparing meals every time. The regression model found that food safety concerns positively related to the PRKHB, and participants who lived in rural areas had a negative association with the PRKHB. The study also explored sociodemographic variations and significant differences observed between urban and rural areas. Meticulous educational campaigns and targeted messages to the food handlers on food safety risks, food handling practices and hand hygiene are necessary to minimise the foodborne disease burden in this region.
新冠疫情重塑了生活的方方面面，包括食品安全。了解家庭中的食品安全行为对于制定有效的策略以减轻疫情期间及之后的食源性疾病至关重要。本研究对503名家庭食品处理人员进行了横断面调查，以考察孟加拉国食品处理人员在疫情期间的食品安全担忧以及与疫情相关的知识和卫生行为（PRKHB）。结果发现，本研究中只有35.8%的受访者因新冠疫情而更加关注食品安全。尽管结果显示95.8%的城市食品处理人员具有良好的PRKHB，但总体而言，62%的人PRKHB水平较差。只有38.8%的人报告每次回家或准备饭菜后都会洗手。回归模型发现，食品安全担忧与PRKHB呈正相关，而居住在农村地区的参与者与PRKHB呈负相关。该研究还探讨了社会人口统计学差异以及城乡之间观察到的显著差异。有必要针对食品处理人员开展细致的教育活动，并提供有关食品安全风险、食品处理做法和手部卫生的针对性信息，以尽量减轻该地区的食源性疾病负担。
