Food safety knowledge and behaviour among food handlers in catering establishments: a case study

Purpose The main objective of this study is to find out how food handlers in catering establishments perceive ensuring food safety and which problems they meet along the way. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative approach, ten food handlers in Slovenian catering facilities were included in the case study. A semi-structured approach was applied to provide a deeper insight into food safety barriers perceived by respondents. Participants first read short fictitious newspaper news about a foodborne disease at a tourist farm, which served as a starting point. Findings The results demonstrate barriers which most often originate in a lack of knowledge (e.g. improper food safety training, incorrect food safety knowledge testing, knowledge and maintaining of CCPs), shortage of food hygiene skills (e.g. handwashing, food defrosting) and weak work satisfaction (e.g. insufficient payment, poor interpersonal relationships and weak motivation). Food safety knowledge and consequently training methods were found to be the biggest barrier for the efficiency of the HACCP system in practice. Research limitations/implications Due to the small sample, the results cannot be generalised to the entire population of food handlers in Slovenia. Practical implications The results indicate weaknesses in food safety knowledge among professional food handlers. Originality/value The study provides a deeper insight into implicit opinions of ten food handlers in catering facilities regarding barriers in providing food safety, their knowledge and behaviour in their work with food.