Abstract:
A cross-sectional study was carried out among 94 meat handlers working in abattoir and retail meat shops of south division, Moroto municipality to assess their food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP’s). A Purposive sampling method was used to select study respondents and data was collected through interviews using semi- structured questionnaires adopted from similar previous research. An overall score for each topic area was calculated based on the responses to individual questions. Almost all meat handlers were males (80.9%), more than half (68.1%) were married, (57.5 %) had no formal education and (83.8%) did not possess food safety licenses. 60.64% of the meat handlers demonstrated satisfactory knowledge of which 100.0% were aware that proper cleaning and sanitization of knives and hooks reduces the risk of contamination, 98.94% knew the importance of regular hand washing in reducing meat contamination. However, none was aware of the importance of masks in reducing contamination. Similarly, 93.62% of them had a positive attitude toward food safety of which 97.87% agreed that safe meat handling is an important part of their job 95.74% agreed that keeping working surfaces and utensils clean reduces the risk of illness whereas 61.29% disagreed that the use of rings watches could cause food contamination. Despite good knowledge and positive attitudes toward food safety, this did not always translate into adequate practices during meat handling where only 17% of the meat handlers were observed to adhere to good hygienic practices of which 100% acknowledged washing hands before and after handling meat. 83% demonstrated bad hygienic practices of which 86.17% had no masks, gloves and hairnet while working. There was a significant difference between workers with less experience and those with more experience in regards to KAPs. A surprising finding was participants with lower levels of education showed better knowledge levels than those higher education levels. In conclusion, 83% of the meat handlers demonstrated bad hygienic practices e.g. having no protective gear, wearing bangles and rings while handling meat, using the same towel for cleaning different surfaces. This calls for targeted interventions to improve their meat handling practices like regular hands-on induction, continuous training and enforcement of food safety regulations and personal hygiene to ensure strict adherence to food safety rules.
