JSSAS 507 No.

of Pages 8, Model 5G
16 February 2022

Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

1

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences

journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com

2 Full length article

6
4 Development and validation of a food safety knowledge, attitudes and

of
7
5 self-reported practices (KAP) questionnaire in Omani consumers
8 Nasser Al-Makhroumi, Mohammed Al-Khusaibi ⇑, Lyutha Al-Subhi, Ismail Al-Bulushi,
Mohammed Al-Ruzeiqi

o
9

10 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 34, Al-Khoudh 123, Muscat, Oman

Pr
11
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
1 8
2 3
14 Article history: Consumer knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) play important roles in ensuring food safety since 29
15 Received 30 September 2021 home implicated in many food poisoning cases. This study aimed to develop and validate a food safety 30
16 Revised 15 January 2022 KAP questionnaire for Omani consumers. This study also aimed to assess the food safety KAP of Omani 31
17 Accepted 1 February 2022
female staff at Sultan Qaboos University and its association with certain socio-demographic variables. 32
18

19
20
Available online xxxx

Keywords:
Food safety and hygiene
ed
The developed questionnaire consisted of 4 sections, socio-demographics, knowledge, attitudes and prac-
tices. It was tested for consistency and validated. Cronbach’s alpha for knowledge, attitudes and practices
was 0.766, 0.714 and 0.687 respectively. The paired t-test evaluation of the test-retest attempts found no
33
34
35

21 Knowledge
significant difference between the attempts (p > 0.05) and there was a high correlation (p ranging 36
22 Attitudes from < 0.001 to 0.002) between the two attempts. The KAP study (n = 297) showed that most of the 37
23 Practices respondents are engaged in food preparation at home at least 3 days per week. The majority also pre- 38
24 pared food at home for most of the days of the week and rarely ate or bought food from restaurants or 39
ct
Consumers
25 Oman cafes. The study found that the majority of participants had low food safety knowledge scores. A mean 40
26 GCC countries of 43% of respondents were able to correctly answer the knowledge questions, while the mean of respon- 41
27
dents with positive attitudes and proper practices was 76.9% and 70%, respectively. Knowledge scores 42
were affected by age, educational level and income but not by marital status. Attitudes and practices 43
re

were affected by marital status but not age, educational level or income. The association between the 44
KAP of respondents was found to be weak. It can be concluded that the level of knowledge among the 45
population of the study needs to be increased to match the level of attitudes and practices. 46
Ó 2022 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access 47
article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). 48
or

49
50
51 1. Introduction sized in both, the 2019 International Conference on Food Safety, 60
held in Addis Ababa, and the International Forum on Food Safety 61
nc

52 According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2021a), 1 in and Trade, held in Geneva (WHO, 2021b). In this regard, govern- 62
53 10 people fall ill annually use to consumption of contaminated ments play the main role in ensuring food safety by implementing 63
54 food. Consumption of unsafe food not only affect people’s wellbe- relevant policies, laws and regulations. On the other hand, the role 64
55 ing, but also the national economy. Foodborne diseases exert pres- of consumer in food safety should not be neglected as 60%–80% of 65
56 sure on health care systems and have a severe negative impact on food poisoning cases result from homes (Wang et al., 2019; Fawzi 66
57 infants, children, elderly and individuals with chronic diseases and Shama, 2009; Jevšnik et al., 2008; Redmond and Griffith, 67
U

58 (Jevšnik et al., 2008). Safe food is an integral element to achieve 2003). However, not all consumers are aware about their roles to 68
59 goals for sustainable development. Such importance was empha- protect themselves and their families from the risk of unsafe food. 69
Since those who are responsible for preparing food at home are the 70
last line of defense against foodborne illness, it is important to take 71
⇑ Corresponding author.
different measures to reduce the risks of food contamination with 72
E-mail address: mohamedk@squ.edu.om (M. Al-Khusaibi).
pathogens to the minimum (Mihalache et al., 2021; Redmond and 73
Peer review under responsibility of King Saud University.
Griffith, 2003). However, the risks that may stem from homes have 74
not received enough attention (Wang et al., 2019; Mihalache et al., 75
2021) though homes can favor an array of foodborne pathogens 76

Production and hosting by Elsevier (Redmond and Griffith, 2003). Knowledge and food-handling 77

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2022.02.001
1658-077X/Ó 2022 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 JSSAS 507 No. of Pages 8, Model 5G
16 February 2022

N. Al-Makhroumi, M. Al-Khusaibi, L. Al-Subhi et al. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

78 behaviors are related and these could prevent outbreaks of food- ability and to estimate the time needed to complete it. All individ- 138
79 borne disease (Finch and Daniel, 2005; Young and Waddell, uals, responded to the survey independently. Accordingly, some 139
80 2016). In addition, many sociodemographic factors, age, gender, items were modified as appropriate. 140
81 level of education, area of residency are found to be related to
82 knowledge and attitude in food safety (Moreb et al., 2017). 2.3. Reliability 141
83 According to Wilcock et al. (2004), few studies were conducted
84 about food safety Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) in the The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by administer- 142
85 developing countries. In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) coun- ing the survey to a different sample of the target population (n = 30 143
86 tries, most of the studies conducted in food safety KAP focused on female) by means of test-retest reliability. The questionnaire was 144
87 food handlers in food service establishments (Moghnia et al., 2021; self-administering and a 2-week gap separated the two attempts 145
88 Allafi et al., 2020; Al-Ghazali et al., 2020; Al-Kandari et al., 2019; for the test-retest. The final version of the questionnaire consists 146
89 Al-Shabib et al., 2016; Taha et al., 2020). Some studies evaluated of 13 items on demographic characteristics, 21 questions on 147

of
90 the food safety KAP in some consumers’ groups including univer- knowledge, 10 items on attitudes, and 12 items on practice. 148
91 sity students, school students, and women (Al-Khamees, 2007;
92 Al-Shabib et al., 2017; Almansour et al., 2016; Esfarjani et al.,
2.4. Food safety KAP in female staff at Sultan Qaboos University 149
93 2016; Farahat et al., 2015). Table 1 summarizes the studies related

o
94 to KAP or any of the three constructs. The literature search took
A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and 150
95 into consideration relevant research carried out in the last 5 years
March 2020 to assess food safety KAP of female staff in the univer- 151
96 (2016–2021); the period was extended to previous 10 years
sity. In total, there were 1868 female staff in the university. A sam- 152

Pr
97 (2011–2021) for the GCC countries. To the best of our knowledge,
ple size was calculated with an error margin of 5%, and a 153
98 no studies were found to have assessed food safety KAP in Omani
confidence level of 95% and it was 318 respondents. Around 400 154
99 consumers and there is no valid and reliable food safety KAP sur-
hard copies of the questionnaire were distributed to different units 155
100 vey for this purpose. Therefore, the aim of the study is to evaluate
in the university to increaser the repose rate. The following units 156
101 the levels of knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices
were excluded: College of Agricultural and Marine Science, College 157
102 among Sultan Qaboos University Omani female employees.
of Medicine and SQU Hospital. A total of 297 complete surveys (re- 158
sponse rate = 93.4%) were received which increased the error mar- 159
103 2. Methods
ed gin to 5.22%.
For knowledge items in the questionnaire, each correct
response was assigned ‘‘1 point”, otherwise ‘‘0” was given. Accord-
160
161
162
104 2.1. Survey design and approach
ingly, the maximum possible knowledge score was 21 points. In 163
105 Ethical approval was granted by Office of the Advisor and Aca- the attitudes section, response options for each item were designed 164
106 demic Affairs, dated 8 September 2021. Participation was volun- on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from ‘‘strongly agree” to ‘‘strongly 165
ct
107 tary and all participants consented to take part. One of the disagree”. For positive statements, ‘‘strongly agree” was given ‘‘4” 166
108 approaches to determine food safety KAP in populations is by using points, while ‘‘strongly disagree” was given ‘‘0”. Reverse coding 167
109 surveys in to underpin gaps for improvement in these factors. was applied for negative statements. The maximum score in the 168
110 Hence, a questionnaire on food safety KAP was developed based attitudes section is 40 points. The practices section contained 12 169
re

111 on the previous studies (Al-Kandari et al., 2019; Al-Shabib et al., questions designed to cover the actual daily practices of partici- 170
112 2017; Burke et al., 2016; Farahat et al., 2015; Moreb et al., 2017; pants. The answer of the first six questions were categorized as a 171
113 Taha et al., 2020) and possible common cultural practices in Oman. ‘‘proper” or ‘‘improper” practices. Improper practices are practices 172
114 The developed questionnaire contained 4 sections: that may increase the risk of food poisoning. Questions with ‘‘prop- 173
115 emographic characteristics, food safety knowledge (21 multiple er” practices were assigned ‘‘1” point, otherwise a ‘‘0” was given for 174
or

116 choice questions), food safety attitudes (11 questions assessed on improper practices. The other 6 practice questions were on a 5- 175
117 Likert scale) and practices (12 questions, 6 assessed on multiple point Likert scale from ‘‘always” with a numerical value of ‘‘4 176
118 choice and 6 on Likert scale). During the early stages of the ques- points” to ‘‘never” with a numerical value of ‘‘0”. The maximum 177
119 tionnaire’s development, the draft questions were duly evaluated score for this section is 30. 178
by the authors for their relevance to the Omani society’s food-
nc

120
121 handling practices. This was done through a series of discussions. 2.5. Statistical analysis 179
122 The survey questions are provided as a supplementary material
123 (Table S1). Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social 180
Sciences (SPSS) software (version 21, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). 181

124 2.2. Validity Paired t-test was used to assess the stability of responses between 182
U

test and rests. The Internal Consistency was measured by Cron- 183

125 Face and content validity were used as a rigorous methodolog- bach’s Alpha correlation coefficient. Data of the KAP study were 184

126 ical approach to establish validity of individual items and the over- tested for normality and consequently non-parametric tests were 185

127 all questionnaire (Ayre and Scally, 2014). Thirteen experts in food used as explained further in the results and discussion section. 186

128 science reviewed the questionnaire’s content and provided feed-

129 back in terms of the suitability of the questions vis-à-vis not only 3. Results and discussion 187
130 the food safety domain but also the scope of the study, cultural rel-
131 evance, redundancy, clarity of phrases, and comprehensibility. The 3.1. Reliability of the food safety KAP 188
132 experts were from different areas of expertise within food science:
133 food microbiology, food safety inspection, home economics, 3.1.1. Internal consistency 189
134 human nutrition, etc. Face validity was established then by piloting The internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha 190
135 the survey with 32 females of the target population which repre- correlation coefficient (Table 2). Cronbach’s alpha values were 191
136 sents about 10% of the minimum sample size required for the study 0.755 for knowledge, 0.651 for attitudes and 0.620 for self- 192
137 (Thabane et al., 2010). The aim for this phase was to improve read- reported practices. Different minimum acceptable values between 193

2
 JSSAS 507 No. of Pages 8, Model 5G
16 February 2022

N. Al-Makhroumi, M. Al-Khusaibi, L. Al-Subhi et al. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 1
Studies related to food safety KAP conducted in the last 5 years*

Respondents Conclusion Reference

Women in Sharjah-UAEn = 656
Women in Saudi Arabian = 1490
Jordanian University
studentsn = 1739
Domestic workers in
Good knowledge and practices. Saeed et al.
Significant association between knowledge and practices and employment status and educational levels. No (2021)
significant association with marital status or age.
Intermediate overall food safety knowledge and practices. Arfaoui et al.
Lowest scores of knowledge in food preparation and cooking. (2021)
Significant association between knowledge age, marital status, and having children.
Insufficient food safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP). Osaili et al.,
Significant association between KAP scores and gender, marital status, university degree, employment status, and (2021)
the source of food safety information.
Inadequate knowledge about food safety. Osaili et al.

of
UAEn = 231 Poor knowledge in ‘‘food poisoning” and ‘‘temperature control”. (2022)
Significant association between knowledge and marital status, age and education level.
Pilgrims during the 2019 Hajj. Good knowledge and practice. Yezli et al.
n = 1363 Risky practices included storage temperature and cross contamination between individuals. (2021)
Significant association between good knowledge and practice and gender, nationality and gastrointestinal
disorders symptoms.

o
Female university students, Good food safety knowledge Asmahan et al.
Saudi Arabia.n = 265 Weak knowledge about cooking and storage/holding temperatures. (2021)
Significant association between training and knowledge and practices.

Pr
College students, Kuwait. Insufficient food safety knowledge and practices. Ashkanani
n = 585 Significant association between knowledge and practices and age, gender, marital status, and cooking habits. et al. (2021)
Romanian consumers.n = 985 Significant correlations between knowledge and attitude. Mihalache
Moderate awareness on self-reported kitchen hygiene practices. et al. 2021
Significant association between Knowledge and attitude; and self-reported kitchen practices.
Adult consumers in Turkey. Significant association between attitude and practices, and gender and education level. Göbel et al.
n = 1161 (2021)
College Students, Inadequate food safety knowledge, attitude, and practices. Azanaw et al.
Ethiopian = 429 Significant association between knowledge and practices and gender, year of study and food safety training. (2021)

Netizensn = 361
Consumers in developing
countries.n = 453
College students, China
(n = 3454)
Mothers, Saudi Arabia.n = 979
ed
Significant association between knowledge and practice but no association between practices and attitude.
Satisfactory food safety knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.
Majority preferred to obtain food safety knowledge from WeMedia
Zhao et al.
(2020)
Significant difference food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of consumers between Africa (Cameroon, Odeyemi et al.
Ghana, Nigeria) and Asia (Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan). (2019)
Significant difference on knowledge, attitude and Practice between consumers from Africa and Asia.
Inadequate knowledge and inappropriate practices. Luo et al.
ct
Significant association between KAP and school (Medicine, Education and Nursing) and We-media browsing. (2019)
content by We-media had higher KAP scores than those who didn’t.
Good knowledge of personal hygiene and food poisoning. Ayaz et al.
Moderate knowledge of food storage and maintenance of kitchen facilities. (2018)
Poor knowledge in food handling.
re

Significant association between knowledge and practices and level of education.

Consumers, Vietnam.n = 1740
Libyan studentsn = 300
or
Sufficient knowledge of food handling practices, but low understanding of the facility requirements to keep food Nguyen et al.
safe. (2018)
Significant association was found between knowledge and marital status, education, and having specific criteria
when choosing places to eat.
Good knowledge of food safety and health system. Gündüz et al.

Significant association between consumer awareness and income and the level of education. (2018)
University students, Malaysia. Good knowledge, attitude, and perception. Ali et al. (2018)
n = 869 Significant association between KAP scores and age, gender and type of diet,
Veterinary medicine students, High level of knowledge and attitude but low practices scores. Stratev et al.
Bulgarian = 100 No association between KAP age and gender. (2017)
No association between knowledge and practices and years of study.
nc

University students, Saudi Good knowledge in cleanliness of kitchen surfaces and utensils, prevention of cross contamination and hand Al-Shabib et al.
Arabian = 534 hygiene. (2017)
Lack good knowledge and practice of temperature control.
No association between knowledge and practices and gender.
Saudi Women, Saudi Arabia. Variation in knowledge of different food safety domains (i.e., personal hygiene, utensils and equipment, cooking). Farahat et al.
N = 811 Low scores in knowledge related to utensils and equipment. (2015)
Low scores in practices related to cooking.
U

Significant association between knowledge and practices and employment, age and education.
*The search was extended to the last 10 years (2011–2021) for the GCC countries

194 0.6 and 0.8 were reported in some studies (Berthoud, 2000; Bruhn and Schutz (1999) on food safety knowledge and practices 204
195 Bryman, 2012). Reliability can be considered as excellent if it is of Californian, USA, households; 47% of respondents reported that 205
196 greater than 80%, good if it is between 80% and 71%, acceptable if they sometimes or always tasted left-over food to evaluate its 206
197 it is between 70% and 61%, and weak if it is less than 60% (Sekaran, safety for consumption. Similarly, Bolek (2020) recently reported 207
198 2003). Table 2 also shows the maximum values that can be a higher percentage (77%) from a survey in Istanbul, Turkey. 208
199 obtained if an item were deleted. Small change in the value of In the attitudes section, the value of Cronbach’s alpha is 0.714 if 209
200 questions number 13 of the knowledge section was noticed. question number 6 is deleted. There is already a question in this 210
201 Authors believe that this question is important because it evaluate section which ask if respondents believe that food poisoning can 211
202 the knowledge of consumers in respect of using self-sensory eval- be fatal which we believe that it would measure similar attitudes 212
203 uation to judge on food product safety. According to a study by toward consequences of food poisoning. The item-total correlation 213

3
 JSSAS 507 No. of Pages 8, Model 5G
16 February 2022

N. Al-Makhroumi, M. Al-Khusaibi, L. Al-Subhi et al. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 2
Cronbach’s alpha correlation coefficient for the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices sections (n = 30).

Section Cronbach Cronbach alpha if item is deleted

alpha
Question Corrected item-total Cronbach’s Alpha if Item is
Correlation deleted
Knowledge 0.755 Survey Q. 13. 0.118 0.766
Foods left overs that smells good are safe to eat.
Attitudes 0.651 Survey Q. 6 0.187 0.714
I believe that foodborne illness can lead to kidney failure and liver
disease
Practices 0.620 Survey Q2. 0.140 0.687
I Keep the remaining food from lunch to be consumed in the next
meal

of
214 for this question is – 0.187. Low values mean a low degree of fit- engaged in food cooking and preparation in almost 58%. >50% of 245
215 ness between the item and the rest of the scale (de Vaus, 2004). respondents participated in food preparation at home for at least 246

o
216 Hence, this question can be deleted. 3 days a week. This emphasizes the important of food safety 247
217 In practices section, the Cronbach’s alpha is 0.687 if question awareness among the population of this study. The handling of 248
218 number 2 is deleted. The question asks about the place (and hence food in a household in general and cooking in particular are 249

Pr
219 temperature) in which leftover food from lunch meal is kept to be women’s responsibilities in many societies (Isoni Auad et al., 250
220 consumed for the next meal. This is a practice that may lead to food 2019; Assaad et al., 2010), including Arab societies (Arfaoui et al., 251
221 poisoning if food is kept at the wrong temperature and hence this 2021; Thuwayba et al., 2007; AbdulNabi, 1992). Al-Shabib et al. 252
222 question was not deleted. (2017) found the percentage of women who prepare food to be 253
more than double that of male, which they explained through 254
223 3.1.2. Reliability the role sharing in food preparation at home. This responsibility, 255
224 The questionnaire stability was evaluated by the test-retest knowledge and practices are influenced by the perception concern- 256
225
226
227
approach. The paired t-test analysis (Table S2, supplementary
materials) showed that there was no significant difference
between answers in the first and the second attempts (p val-
ed ing the importance of food safety (Lin, 1995). Omani women too
consider housekeeping, including cooking, as their main role
(Karadsheh and AlZar, 2017; Al-Attar and Al-Zadjali, 2014). Chatty
257
258
259
228 ues > 0.05). In addition, the correlation between answers from (2000) reported that Omani women consider their job as an exten- 260
229 the two attempts was high (p values < 0.001–0.02). sion of their work at home. 261
Another important aspect concerning the role of food prepara- 262
ct
230 3.2. Food safety KAP of the female staff tion and food safety pertains to availing the services of domestic 263
workers. In many families in the GCC countries, the responsibility 264
231 3.2.1. Socio-economic, food preparation and dining of food handling and cooking is either mainly that of domestic 265
232 Table 3 shows the socio-demographic characteristic of respon- workers or shared with them (Osaili et al., 2021; Tayah et al., 266
re

233 dents. Almost 50% of respondents are in the age range of 31– 2018; Zerovec and Bontenbal, 2011; Abu-Madi et al., 2008). 267
234 40 year. The majority of the respondents have bachelor’s degree According to Tayah and Assaf (2018), the number of domestic 268
235 (50.5%). In term of marital status, 77% of the respondents either workers in Oman was 195,000 in 2016, with a majority being 269
236 are married or had been married at some point (divorced or female (76%). Cooking was listed as one of the main skill deficits 270
237 widow). The majority (70%) hold administrative positions at work. with these workers. In Oman, there are no detailed statistics about 271
or

238 In order to gain some understating about the responsibility of the number of female domestic workers but expatriates whose 272
239 food preparation at home, the degree of engagement in food prepa- work is relates to family activities account for 17% of the total 273
240 ration, and dining out, some questions were introduced in the working expatriates (NCSI, 2021). Thus, food safety at home can 274
241 questionnaire as listed in Table 4. be highly influenced by the KAP of domestic workers. 275
242 It can be seen from Table 4 that around 67% of respondents It can also be noted from the Table 4 that more than 92% of 276
nc

243 engaged in cooking and preparation of food at home either solely respondents eat less than 3 times per week in a restaurant or 277
244 ( 26%) or with the help of a housekeeper ( 41%). Housemaid café, and  89% bring food from a restaurant or café less than 3 278

Table 3
Socio-demographic description of the study population.
U

Demographic Variable n % Demographic Variable N %

Age (years) Marital status
21–30 86 28.96 Married 228 76.8
31–40 148 49.83 Unmarried 69 23.2
41–50 63 21.21
> 50 0 0
Educational Level Monthly Income (OMR)a
High Diploma or less 65 21.8
Bachelor’s Degree 150 50.5 500–1000 102 34.3
Master’s Degree and above 82 27.6 1000–1500 144 48.5
1500–above 51 17.2
Nature of work
Administrative 208 70
Academic/technical 89 30
a
One Omani Rial = 2.1953 EUR = 2.60078 USD (XE currency convertor, 13/07/2021.

4
 JSSAS 507 No. of Pages 8, Model 5G
16 February 2022

N. Al-Makhroumi, M. Al-Khusaibi, L. Al-Subhi et al. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 4
Respondents engaged in food preparation and dining out.

Question n % Question n %
Cooking and preparing food at home Dining out
By my self 77 25.9 Every day 5 1.7
House maid 51 17.2 3–6 days/week 19 6.4
Me & House maid 121 40.7 <3 days/week 100 33.7
Other family member 48 16.2 Rarely 173 58.5
Participate in preparing food at home Bringing food from restaurants or cafes
Every day 87 29.3 Every day 7 2.4
3–6 days/week 72 24.2 3–6 days/week 27 9.1
<3 days/week 75 25.3 <3 days/week 108 36.4
Rarely 63 21.2 Rarely 155 52.2

of
279 times per week. According to Knight et al. (2009), a significant rela- Table 6
280 tionship was found between food safety concerns and history of The number and percentage of respondents with appropriate food safety-related
answers in knowledge, attitudes and practices.
281 food poisoning with consumers who frequently dines out. How-

o
282 ever, our results may suggest that respondents frequently are eat- Construct Respondents average± Standard deviation %
283 ing at home and, hence, the safety of food at domestic level is very Knowledgea 131.5 ± 81.1 44.3
284 important in the society. Table 5 shows the association between Attitudesb 228.3 ± 56.8 76.9

Pr
285 engagement in food preparation and dining out (Table 4) and Practicesc 207.7 ± 75.6 69.9
286 demographic variables. The results show that participation of a
This is the average number of respondents with correct answers
287 cooking/preparation of food (who is involved) was significantly b
This is the average number of respondents with positive attitudes (positive
288 associated with age, educational level, marital status and income. attitudes is considered when the answers are ‘‘Strongly agree” or ‘‘Agree” in the
positive statements; and ‘‘Disagree” and ‘‘strongly disagree” with negative
289 The highest association value (Carmer’s association coefficient)
statements
290 was for the marital status. Marital status along with income was c
The average number of respondents with proper practices
also found to be associated with engagement of food cooking/
291
292
293
preparation. In term of dining or bringing food from a restaurant
or café, all variables were significantly associated except income.
ed upper group (i.e. high knowledge, positive attitudes, or proper 320
294 In all cases, marital status appeared to have the highest effect. practices). Respondents with a percentage of 60–70% were classi- 321
fied in the second class while respondents with 59% or less are 322
295 3.2.2. Analysis of the respondents scores classified into the third class. Results are shown in Table 7. 323
Regarding the knowledge levels of the participants, Table 7
ct
296 Data of knowledge, attitudes and practice were not normally 324
297 distributed based on Shapiro-Wilk and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. shows that the majority 272 (91.6%) had low knowledge. A study 325
298 The average numbers of respondents who chose the optimal conducted by Majowicz, et al. (2015) showed similar results that 326
299 answer in each of the 3 sections of the questionnaire are reported the majority of participants (n = 2,860) had low knowledge. In Aus- 327
in Table 6. Optimal answers vary in each section, for knowledge, tralia, the level of knowledge of food safety among Australians was 328
re

300
301 the optimal answer is the correct answer since this construct has relatively weak (Worsley et al., 2013). The lowest levels of knowl- 329
302 either correct or incorrect. In attitudes section, the optimal answer edge in the current study are related to the areas of defrosting 330
303 is the positive attitudes; and in practices, the optimal answer is the meat in microwave, reheating leftovers, and use different cutting 331
304 proper practice. This was done by calculating the number of board, only 30, 38, and 44%, respectively, correctly answering these 332
questions.
or

305 respondents with optimal answer for each question and then cal- 333
306 culating the average number. According to the above classification, chi-squared test was used 334
307 It can be noticed from the Table 6 that the average number of to evaluate if there is any association between knowledge, atti- 335
308 respondents with correct answers in the knowledge section were tudes and practices. Cramer’s coefficient of association is used to 336
309 132 which represented 44% of respondents. This could be the low- evaluate the degree of association. 337
nc

310 est if it is compared with practices ( 70%) and attitudes ( 77%). As it can be observed from Table 8, There was no associations 338
311 These results suggest that the sample in this study had low food between knowledge and attitudes (p = 0.315). Despite the signifi- 339
312 safety knowledge although they had positive attitudes and proper cant value of chi squared in both Knowledge-practices (p < 0.001) 340
313 practices. and attitudes-practices (p = 0.045) association, Cramer’s value sug- 341
314 For better reporting of the results, the respondents were seg- gests low association (Crewson, 2006). Although attitudes are 342
315 mented into 3 different groups in each construct of the KAP ques- expected to explain or influence behaviors (Kraus, 1995), it has 343
U

316 tionnaire. Classification was based on Bloom’s cut off points been reported that positive attitudes to food safety issues does 344
317 (Bloom, 1956) and classifying respondents into three classes in not always results in proper behavior that increase consumer’s 345
318 each construct (i.e., Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices). Respon- safety (Zanin et al., 2017; Luo et al., 2019; Wilcock et al., 2004). 346
319 dents with 80% optimal answers or more were classified in the Attitudes can be developed without real experience to food han- 347

Table 5
Results of Chi-squared test of independence test.

Age Ed. level Marital status Income

p-value Cramer’s V p-value Cramer’s V p-value Cramer’s V p-value Cramer’s V
Who is involved in cooking? <0.001 0.291 0.003 0.181 < 0.001 0.445 0.001 0.199
Engagement in cooking(days per week) 0.285 0.112 0.248 0.115 < 0.001 0.342 0.016 0.162
Eating in restaurant/cafe 0.039 0.154 0.017 0.154 0.001 0.247 0.669 0.087
Bringing food from restaurant/cafe 0.012 0.171 0.012 0.163 < 0.001 0.287 0.750 0.077

5
 JSSAS 507 No. of Pages 8, Model 5G
16 February 2022

N. Al-Makhroumi, M. Al-Khusaibi, L. Al-Subhi et al. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 7 and practices (p > 0.05). In all variables that significantly affected 360
Classification of respondents based on their scores in each section of the KAP knowledge, scores were ascending categories always scored 361
questionnaire.
higher. For example, higher scores found by respondents in the 362
Frequency Percentage age of 41–50 followed by 31–40 and then 21–30. Taha et al. 363
Knowledge (2020) found that participants with age of > 40 years had signifi- 364
High 2 0.7% cantly better food safety knowledge than younger participants 365
Moderate 23 7.7% (<40 years). Level of education and age were found to influence 366
Low 272 91.6%
Attitudes
the understating of food risk issues and messages related to food 367

Positive 140 47.1% safety (De Boer et al., 2005; McCarthy et al., 2007). Khan et al. 368
Neutral 146 49.2% (2018) reported that knowledge about quality and safety of fish 369
Negative 11 3.7% was influenced by age and educational level. 370
Practices
On the other hand, there was no significant effect of marital sta- 371

of
Proper 65 21.9%
Acceptable 171 57.6% tus or work nature on knowledge. However, Marital status signifi- 372
Improper 61 20.5% cantly affected the attitudes and practices scores. Married women 373
were more conscious about food safety and had more proper prac- 374
tices that unmarried women. The association between proper food 375

o
safety practices and marital status has been discussed by several 376

Table 8
researchers. Arfaoui et al. (2021) reported that married women 377

Association between knowledge, attitudes and practices measure by chi-squared test have higher food safety knowledge. In general, female respondents 378

Pr
of association. have scored better in knowledge compared to males (Ashkanani 379

Constructs Chi-squared p-value Cramer’s V

et al., 2021; Zeeshan et al., 2017; Hassan and Dimassi, 2014; Sharif 380
and Al-Malki, 2010). Rao et al. (2007) reported good awareness 381
Knowledge – Attitudes 0.315 0.090
about food safety practices among Indian mothers. They linked 382
Knowledge – Practices < 0.001 0.193
Attitudes – Practices 0.045 0.130 that to the Indian food believes which been passed on through dif- 383
ferent generations. Finally, the scores of knowledge, attitudes and 384
ed practices did not associate with the work nature. 385

348 dling or preparation (Cardello et al., 1996). Instead, attitudes may

4. Conclusion 386
349 develop as a result of habits, social and cultural influences
350 (Wilcock et al., 2004). Low association was also found between
A food safety Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) ques- 387
351 knowledge and self-reported practices (Raab and Woodburn,
tionnaire was developed and validated through face and content 388
352 1997).
validity testing, internal (Cronbach alpha) and external reliability 389
ct
(stability by test-retest method). The majority of respondents 390
353 3.2.3. Association of socio-economic variables and KAP scores involved in food preparation at home and did not eat or bring 391
354 The association between the socio-economic variable and the food from restaurants or cafes. The knowledge of the respon- 392
355 food safety KAP scores are presented in Table 9 using Kruskal- dents was low while attitudes and practices were relatively high. 393
re

356 Wallis H test. The results showed significant difference in the Food safety knowledge was affected by age, income, and educa- 394
357 scores of knowledge between different age categories (p = 0.016), tional level. Only Marital status was significantly associated with 395
358 different monthly income (p = 0.017) and different educational attitudes and practices. Female domestic workers are signifi- 396
359 level (p = 0.004). All these variables did not influence attitudes cantly involved in food preparation, and their KAP needs to be 397
or

Table 9
Mean rank of food safety KAP with respect to independent variables.

Variable Knowledge Attitudes Practices

nc

Mean rank P-value Mean rank P-value Mean rank P-value

Age (years)
21–30 133.88 0.016 135.25 0.156 140.17 0.355
31–40 147.06 151.65 149.18
41–50 174.19 161.54 160.63
U

Monthly income (O.R.)

500–1000 132.06 0.017 140.75 0.329 136.83 0.159
1000–1500 152.66 150.10 152.66
1500–above 172.55 162.39 163.00
Educational level
High diploma & less 130.80 0.004 148.44 0.100 141.43 0.087
Bachelor’s degree 143.03 140.25 142.56
Post graduate degree 174.34 165.45 166.78
Marital status
Married 153.10 0.132 156.47 0.006 154.99 0.029
Unmarried 135.45 124.32 129.22
Work nature
Administrative 144.28 0.145 143.64 0.099 145.42 0.271
Academic/technical 160.03 161.53 157.37

6
 JSSAS 507 No. of Pages 8, Model 5G
16 February 2022

N. Al-Makhroumi, M. Al-Khusaibi, L. Al-Subhi et al. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

398 investigated to design intervention programs. Finally, this Ayre, C., Scally, A.J., 2014. Critical values for Lawshe’s content validity ratio: 462
Revisiting the original methods of calculation. Measur. Eval. Counsel. Develop. 463
399 emphasizes the need for increasing the awareness of households 464
47 (1), 79–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/0748175613513808.
400 concerning food safety knowledge so that the risk of food-borne Azanaw, J., Dagne, H., Andualem, Z., Adane, T., Angelillo, I.F., 2021. Food Safety 465
401 illnesses can be reduced. The findings of this work may facilitate Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of College Students, Ethiopia, 2019: A Cross- 466
Sectional Study. Biomed Res. Int. 2021, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/ 467
402 development of policy relating to domestic food safety in Oman; 468
6686392.
403 this work can also serve as a case-study for other GCC countries. Berthoud, R., 2000. A Measure of Changing Health. In: Berthoud, R., Gershuny, J. 469
(Eds.), Seven Years in the Lives of British Families: Evidence on the Dynamics of 470
Social Change from the British Household Panel Survey. Policy Press, Bristol. 471
404 Uncited references Bloom, B.S., 1956. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Cognitive Domain Vol. 1. 472
Bolek, S., 2020. Consumer knowledge, attitudes, and judgments about food safety: A 473
consumer analysis. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 102, 242–248. https://doi.org/ 474
405 Luo et al. (2019a), Luo et al. (2019b), Osaili et al. (2022), Sekaran 10.1016/j.tifs.2020.03.009. 475
406 and Bougie (2003), Thode (2002). Bruhn, C.M., Schutz, H.G., 1999. Consumer food safety knowledge and practices. J. 476
477

of
Food Saf. 19 (1), 73–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4565.1999.tb00235.x.
Bryman, A., 2012. Social research methods. Oxford University Press. 478
407 Declaration of Competing Interest Burke, T., Young, I., Papadopoulos, A., 2016. Assessing food safety knowledge and 479
preferred information sources among 19–29 year olds. Food Control 69, 83–89. 480
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2016.04.019. 481
408 The authors declare that they have no known competing finan- Cardello, A.V., Bell, R., Kramer, F.M., 1996. Attitudes of consumers toward military 482
409 cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared

o
and other institutional foods. Food Qual. Prefer. 7 (1), 7–20. https://doi.org/ 483
410 to influence the work reported in this paper. 10.1016/0950-3293(95)00028-3. 484
Crewson, P., 2006. Applied statistics handbook. AcaStat Software 1, 103–123. 485
de Boer, M., McCarthy, M., Brennan, M., Kelly, A.L., Ritson, C., 2005. Public 486

Pr
411 Acknowledgement understanding of food risk issues and food risk messages on the island of 487
Ireland: the view of food safety experts. J. Food Saf. 25 (4), 241–265. https://doi. 488
org/10.1111/j.1745-4565.2005.00020.x. 489
412 Authors would like to thank Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) for de Vaus, D., 2004. Surveys in Social Research. Routledge, London. 490
413 supporting this research project and SQU female staff who partic- Esfarjani, F., Hosseini, H., Mohammadi-Nasrabadi, F., Abadi, A., Roustaee, R., 491
Alikhanian, H., Khalafi, M., Kiaee, M.F., Khaksar, R., 2016. Development of a 492
414 ipated in the survey. 493
home food safety questionnaire based on the PRECEDE model: Targeting Iranian
women. J. Food Prot. 79 (12), 2128–2135. https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X. 494
JFP-16-029. 495
415 Appendix A. Supplementary data

416 Supplementary data to this article can be found online at

ed Farahat, M.F., El-Shafie, M.M., Waly, M.I., 2015. Food safety knowledge and practices
among Saudi women. Food Control 47, 427–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.foodcont.2014.07.045.
Fawzi, M., Shama, M.E., 2009. Food Safety Knowledge and Practices among Women
496
497
498
499
417 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2022.02.001. Working in Alexandria University. Egypt. Egypt Public Health Association. 84 500
418 (1), 95–117. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods7120193. 501
Finch, C., Daniel, E., 2005. Food safety knowledge and behavior of emergency food 502
relief organization workers: Effects of food safety training intervention. J. 503
ct
419 References Environ. Health 67 (9), 30–34. 504
Göbel, P., Sß anlier, N., Yilmaz, S., Toka, O., Açikalin, B., Kocabasß, Sß., 2021. Evaluating 505
the knowledge, attitudes and practices of adults on food safety: a cross- 506
420 Al-Ghazali, M., Al-Bulushi, I., Al-Subhi, L., Rahman, M.S., Al-Rawahi, A., Owusu-
sectional sample from Turkey. Nutr. Food Sci. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-09- 507
421 Kwarteng, J., 2020. Food Safety Knowledge and Hygienic Practices among
2021-0268. 508
422 Different Groups of Restaurants in Muscat, Oman. Int. J. Food Sci. 2020, 1–8.
Gündüz, S ß ., Hakem, A., Erdoğusß, M., 2018. Food safety knowledge, behavior and 509
re

423 https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8872981.
attitude of Libyan consumers. Qual. Quant. 52 (1), 165–179. https://doi.org/ 510
424 Ali, A.N., William, A.F., Prajapati, S.K., Ahmed, N.Z., 2018. A KAP study on food safety
10.1007/s11135-017-0599-z. 511
425 and hygiene among private university students in Kedah State, Malaysia. J.
Jevšnik, M., Hlebec, V., Raspor, P., 2008. Consumers’ awareness of food safety from 512
426 Natural Remed. 18 (3), 113–121. https://doi.org/10.18311/jnr/2018/22289.
shopping to eating. Food Control 19 (8), 737–745. https://doi.org/https://doi. 513
427 Al-Kandari, D., Al-abdeen, J., Sidhu, J., 2019. Food safety knowledge, attitudes and
org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2007.07.017. 514
428 practices of food handlers in restaurants in Kuwait. Food Control 103, 103–110.
Khan, A.Q., Aldosari, F., Hussain, S.M., 2018. Fish consumption behavior and fish 515
429 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2019.03.040.
or

farming attitude in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). J. Saudi Soc. Agric. Sci. 17 516
430 Al-Khamees, N.A., 2007. Food safety knowledge and reported behaviour of
(2), 195–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2016.04.003. 517
431 university students in Kuwait. Int. J. Health Promotion Ed. 45 (3), 93–99.
Knight, A.J., Worosz, M.R., Todd, E.C., 2009. Dining for safety: Consumer perceptions 518
432 https://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2007.10708110.
of food safety and eating out. J. Hospitality Tour. Res. 33 (4), 471–486. 519
433 Allafi, A.R., Al-Kandari, D., Al-Abdeen, J., Al-Haifi, A.R., 2020. Cross-cultural
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1096348009344211. 520
434 differences in food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers
Kraus, S.J., 1995. Attitudes and the prediction of behavior: A meta-analysis of the 521
435 working at restaurants in Kuwait. Acta Biomed. 91 (4), 1–11. https://doi.org/
522
nc

436 empirical literature. Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 21 (1), 58–75. https://doi.org/
10.23750/abm.v91i4.8614.
10.1177%2F0146167295211007. 523
437 Almansour, M., Sami, W., Al-Rashedy, O.S., Alsaab, R.S., Alfayez, A.S., Almarri, N.R.,
Luo, X., Xu, X., Chen, H., Bai, R., Zhang, Y., Hou, X., Zhang, F., Zhang, Y., Sharma, M., 524
438 2016. Knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) of food hygiene among schools
Zeng, H., Zhao, Y., 2019a. Food safety related knowledge, attitudes, and practices 525
439 students’ in Majmaah city, Saudi Arabia. J. Pakistan Med. Assoc. 66 (4), 442–446.
(KAP) among the students from nursing, education and medical college in 526
440 PMID: 27122273.
Chongqing, China. Food Control 95, 181–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/ 527
441 Al-Shabib, N.A., Mosilhey, S.H., Husain, F.M., 2016. Cross-sectional study on food
j.foodcont.2018.07.042. 528
442 safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of male food handlers employed in
Luo, X., Xu, X., Chen, H., Bai, R., Zhang, Y., Hou, X., Zhang, F., Zhang, Y., Sharma, M., 529
443
U

restaurants of King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Food Control 59, 212–217.
Zeng, H., Zhao, Y., 2019b. Food safety related knowledge, attitudes, and 530
444 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.05.002.
practices (KAP) among the students from nursing, education and medical 531
445 Al-Shabib, N.A., Husain, F.M., Khan, J.M., 2017. Study on food safety concerns,
college in Chongqing, China. Food Control. 95, 181–188. https://doi.org/ 532
446 knowledge and practices among university students in Saudi Arabia. Food
10.1016/j.foodcont.2018.07.042. 533
447 Control 73, 202–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2016.08.005.
Majowicz, S.E., Diplock, K.J., Leatherdale, S.T., Bredin, C.T., Rebellato, S., Hammond, 534
448 Arfaoui, L., Mortada, M., Ghandourah, H., Alghafari, W., 2021. Food Safety
D., Jones-Bitton, A., Dubin, J.A., 2015. Food safety knowledge, attitudes and self- 535
449 Knowledge and Self-reported Practices among Saudi Women. Curr. Nutr. Food
reported practices among Ontario high school students. Can. J. Public Health 536
450 Sci. 17 (8), 891–901. https://doi.org/10.2174/1573401317666210322115237.
106 (8), e520–e526. https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.106.5213. 537
451 Ashkanani, F., Husain, W., A Al Dwairji, M., G mez L pez, V.M., 2021. Assessment of
McCarthy, M., Brennan, M., Kelly, A.L., Ritson, C., de Boer, M., Thompson, N., 2007. 538
452 Food Safety and Food Handling Practice Knowledge among College of Basic
Who is at risk and what do they know? Segmenting a population on their food 539
453 Education Students, Kuwait. J. Food Qual. 2021, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/
safety knowledge. Food Qual. Prefer. 18 (2), 205–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/ 540
454 2021/5534034.
j.foodqual.2005.10.002. 541
455 Asmahan, A.A., Wafa, I.E., Abl El-Razik, M.M., 2021. Effect of training program on
456 Mihalache, O.A., Dumitrasßcu, L., Nicolau, A.I., Borda, D., 2021. Food safety 542
food safety knowledge, behaviour and practices among female students of
knowledge, food shopping attitude and safety kitchen practices among 543
457 Qassim University, KSA. Food Res. 5 (3), 297–306. https://doi.org/10.26656/
Romanian consumers: a structural modelling approach. Food Control 120, 544
458 fr.2017.5(3).605.
107545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107545. 545
459 Ayaz, W.O., Priyadarshini, A., Jaiswal, A.K., 2018. Food safety knowledge and
Moghnia, O.H., Rotimi, V.O., Al-Sweih, N.A., 2021. Evaluating food safety compliance 546
460 practices among Saudi mothers. Foods 7 (12), 193–207. https://dx.doi.org/
and hygiene practices of food handlers working in community and healthcare 547
461 10.3390%2Ffoods7120193.

7
 JSSAS 507 No. of Pages 8, Model 5G
16 February 2022

N. Al-Makhroumi, M. Al-Khusaibi, L. Al-Subhi et al. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences xxx (xxxx) xxx

548 settings in kuwait. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 18 (4), 1–12. https://doi. students at Trakia University, Bulgaria. J. Infect. Public Health 10 (6), 778–782. 588
549 org/10.3390/ijerph18041586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2016.12.001. 589
550 Moreb, N.A., Priyadarshini, A., Jaiswal, A.K., 2017. Knowledge of Food Safety and Taha, S., Osaili, T.M., Saddal, N.K., Al-Nabulsi, A.A., Ayyash, M.M., Obaid, R.S., 2020. 590
551 Food Handling Practices amongst Food Handlers in the Republic of Ireland. Food Food safety knowledge among food handlers in food service establishments in 591
552 Control 80, 341–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2017.05.020. United Arab Emirates. Food Control 110, 106968. https://doi.org/10.1016/ 592
553 Nguyen, A.T.L., Tran, B.X., Le, H.T., Le, X.T.T., Do, K.N., Do, H.T., Vu, G.T., Nguyen, L.H., j.foodcont.2019.106968. 593
554 Latkin, C.A., Ho, C.S., Ho, R., 2018. Customers’ knowledge, attitude, and practices Thabane, L., Ma, J., Chu, R., Cheng, J., Ismaila, A., Rios, L.P., Robson, R., Thabane, M., 594
555 towards food hygiene and safety standards of handlers in food facilities in Giangregorio, L., Goldsmith, C.H., 2010. Pilot Study Article Need To Rename. 595
556 Hanoi, Vietnam. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 15 (10), 2101–2109. https:// BMC Med. Res. Method. 10 (1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-10-1. 596
557 doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102101. Thode, H.J., 2002. Testing for normality. Marcel Dekker, New York. 597
558 Odeyemi, O.A., Sani, N.A., Obadina, A.O., Saba, C.K.S., Bamidele, F.A., Abughoush, M., Wang, S., Shan, L., Wang, X., Wu, L., 2019. Consumer’s risk perception of foodborne 598
559 Asghar, A., Dongmo, F.F.D., Macer, D., Aberoumand, A., 2019. Food safety diseases and high-risk food safety practices in domestic kitchens. Int. Food 599
560 knowledge, attitudes and practices among consumers in developing countries: Agribusiness Manage. Rev. 22 (5), 707–716. https://doi.org/10.22434/ 600
561 An international survey. Food Res. Int. 116, 1386–1390. https://doi.org/10.1016/ IFAMR2019.0009. 601
562 j.foodres.2018.10.030. WHO (2021a). Food Safetey. World Health Organization of the United Nation. www. 602
563 603

of
Osaili, T.M., Al-Nabulsi, A.A., Asma’O, T., 2021. Food safety knowledge, attitudes, and who.int/health-topics/food-safety/, accessed date: 01 July 2001
564 practices among Jordan universities students during the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO, 2021b. The Future of Food Safety, Transforming knowledge into action for 604
565 Front. Public Health 9,. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.729816 729816. people, economies, and the development. https://www.who.int/news-room/ 605
566 Osaili, T., Shaker Obaid, R., Taha, S., Kayyaal, S., Ali, R., Osama, M., Alajmi, R., Al- events/international-food-safety-conference. Access date: 26 June 2021. 606
567 Nabulsi, A.A., Olaimat, A., Hasan, F., Ayyash, M., 2022. A cross-sectional study on Wilcock, A., Pun, M., Khanona, J., Aung, M., 2004. Consumer attitudes, knowledge 607
568 food safety knowledge amongst domestic workers in the UAE. British Food J. and behaviour: a review of food safety issues. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 15 (2), 608

o
569 124 (3), 1009–1021. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-12-2020-1124. 56–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2003.08.004. 609
570 Raab, C.A., Woodburn, M.J., 1997. Changing risk perceptions and food-handling Worsley, A., Wang, W.C., Hunter, W., 2013. Gender differences in the influence of 610
571 practices of Oregon household food preparers. J. Consumer Stud. Home Econ. 21 food safety and health concerns on dietary and physical activity habits. Food 611
572 (2), 117–130. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.1997.tb00274.x. Policy 41, 184–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2003.08.004. 612

Pr
573 Rao, G.S., Sudershan, R.V., Rao, P., Rao, M.V.V., Polasa, K., 2007. Food safety Yezli, S., Yassin, Y., Mushi, A., Aburas, A., Alabdullatif, L., Alburayh, M., Khan, A., 613
574 knowledge, attitudes and practices of mothers—Findings from focus group 2021. Gastrointestinal symptoms and knowledge and practice of pilgrims 614
575 studies in South India. Appetite. 49 (2), 441–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. regarding food and water safety during the 2019 Hajj mass gathering. BMC 615
576 appet.2007.02.011. Public Health 21 (1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11381-9. 616
577 Redmond, E.C., Griffith, C.J., 2003. Consumer food handling in the home: A review of Young, I., Waddell, L., 2016. Barriers and Facilitators to Safe Food Handling among 617
578 food safety studies. J. Food Prot. 66 (1), 130–161. https://doi.org/10.4315/0362- Consumers: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative 618
579 028X-66.1.130. Research Studies. PLoS ONE 11, (12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. 619
580 Saeed, B.Q., Osaili, T.M., Taha, S., 2021. Foodborne diseases risk factors associated pone.0167695 e0167695. 620
581 with food safety knowledge and practices of women in Sharjah-United Arab ed Zanin, L.M., da Cunha, D.T., de Rosso, V.V., Capriles, V.D., Stedefeldt, E., 2017. 621
582 Emirate. Food Control 125, 108024. https://doi.org/10.1016/ Knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers in food safety: An 622
583 j.foodcont.2021.108024. integrative review. Food Res. Int. 100, 53–62. Https://doi.org/10.1016/ 623
584 Sekaran, U., Bougie, R., 2003. Research Methods For Business, A Skill Building j.foodres.2017.07.042. 624
585 Approach. John Willey & Sons. Inc., New York. Zhao, Y., Yu, X., Xiao, Y., Cai, Z., Luo, X., Zhang, F., 2020. Netizens’ food safety 625
586 Stratev, D., Odeyemi, O.A., Pavlov, A., Kyuchukova, R., Fatehi, F., Bamidele, F.A., 2017. knowledge, attitude, behaviors, and demand for science popularization by 626
587 Food safety knowledge and hygiene practices among veterinary medicine WeMedia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 17 (3), 730–740. https://dx.doi.org/ 627
10.3390%2Fijerph17030730. 628
629
ct
re
or
nc
U