Alekhya Sabbithi, S.G.D.N. Lakshmi Reddi, R. Naveen Kumar, Varanasi Bhaskar, G.M. Subba Rao and Sudershan Rao V.
The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the key food safety practices among street food handlers that lead to microbial contamination in selected street foods of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the key food safety practices among street food handlers that lead to microbial contamination in selected street foods of Hyderabad, India. These key food safety practices will help develop and design tailor-made training material for street food vendors in future.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a cross-sectional study conducted in south Indian city of Hyderabad. Stratified random sampling method was employed. A total of 463 samples of street foods were collected from five zones of Hyderabad. They included 163 salad toppings, 150 fresh fruit juices and 150 panipuri samples. Identification and enumeration of foodborne pathogens and indicator organisms (S. aureus, E. coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Bacillus cereus, Yersinia spp.) were performed as described by USFDA-BAM. Information on food safety knowledge and handling practices from street vendors were collected using a structured questionnaire. Associations between hygiene practices and bacterial pathogens were done using ANOVA. Risk estimation of food safety practices was assessed by calculating odds ratio.
Findings
Microbiological analysis indicated that a large number of carrot (98.1 percent) and onion (75.5 percent) samples were contaminated with E. coli. Peeled and cut fruits left uncovered have 13.4 times risk (OR: 2.40-74.8) of E. coli contamination compared to the covered ones. Panipuri samples picked from the vendors who did not have soap at the vending unit had significantly (p<0.001) higher contamination of fecal coliforms than those who had.
Originality/value
This study is the first of its kind in the study area.
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Sudershan Rao Vemula, R. Naveen Kumar and Kalpagam Polasa
The purpose of this paper is to review the nature and extent of foodborne diseases in India due to chemical and microbial agents.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the nature and extent of foodborne diseases in India due to chemical and microbial agents.
Design/methodology/approach
The scientific investigations/reports on outbreak of foodborne diseases in India for the past 29 (1980‐2009) years due to adulteration, chemical, and microbiological contamination have been reviewed. Reported scientific information on foodborne pathogens detected and quantified in Indian foods has also been reviewed.
Findings
A total of 37 outbreaks involving 3,485 persons who have been affected due to food poisoning have been reported in India. Although the common forms of foodborne diseases are those due to bacterial contamination of foods, however, higher numbers of deaths have been observed due to chemical contaminants in foods.
Originality/value
A national foodborne disease surveillance system needs to be developed in India in order to enable effective detection, control and prevention of foodborne disease outbreaks.
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R.V. Sudershan, G.M. Subba Rao, Pratima Rao, M. Vishnu Vardhana Rao and Kalpagam Polasa
To assess knowledge, perceptions and practices of grassroots‐level food safety regulators.
Abstract
Purpose
To assess knowledge, perceptions and practices of grassroots‐level food safety regulators.
Design/methodology/approach
Knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) study using quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection. Quantitative data was collected using a pre‐tested knowledge assessment questionnaire. Qualitative data was collected by conducting a focus group discussion (FGD) and six in‐depth interviews among food safety regulators from all 23 districts of the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS package (version 14.5). The FGD and in‐depth interviews' recordings were transcribed verbatim and translated into English before compiling them into individual reports. These reports were read independently by a group of researchers before inferences were drawn.
Findings
The respondents' knowledge on basic food microbiology was limited. They attributed their inability to monitor all cases of food poisoning/adulteration to delay in receiving information and lack of laboratory facilities. They had sound knowledge of conventional adulterations, but were not equipped to check newer adulterations. Their knowledge on health/nutrition claims on food labels is almost nil. Orientation towards food safety issues other than adulteration is the need of the hour.
Originality/value
The results of the study can serve as the basis for developing an in‐service training module for food safety regulators.
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Sunaina Thakur and Pulkit Mathur
Unsafe food can lead to various foodborne diseases and even death, especially among children. This paper aims to assess food safety knowledge and changes in practices and concerns…
Abstract
Purpose
Unsafe food can lead to various foodborne diseases and even death, especially among children. This paper aims to assess food safety knowledge and changes in practices and concerns among adults ≥ 18 years during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted among 325 adults living in Northern India. Demographic data and information regarding their knowledge, practices and concerns about various food safety issues were collected to see if there were any changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
The results showed that the participants had slightly higher than average knowledge and good food safety practices with mean scores of 9.75 ± 2.23 and 24.87 ± 2.28, respectively. Contracting COVID-19 from food and food packaging materials was of high concern for more than 70% of the participants. Majority (> 80%) of them reported an increase in the frequency of handwashing. About 16% of the participants used chemical disinfectants for washing fruits and vegetables. An increase (57.5%) in the frequency of food label reading was also noted during the pandemic. Freshness and the general quality of food items (49.5%), safety of food (30.8%) and cost (18.2%) were the top drivers that influenced the purchase decision.
Originality/value
This study highlighted the need to send out clear messages on safe food handling practices and keeping the tempo up for sustaining good hygienic practices. This will help in reducing the risk of foodborne diseases.
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Solomon Rajkumar, Renuka Nayar, Kavitha Rajagopal, Eaknath B. Chakurkar, Vismitha Shree Venkatesh, Prejit Nambiar and Venkatesh Paramesh
The purpose of this paper is to assess food safety knowledge, choice behavior and health hazard concerns of ethnic Goan pork sausage consumers through various consumer food safety…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess food safety knowledge, choice behavior and health hazard concerns of ethnic Goan pork sausage consumers through various consumer food safety indices and also to evaluate socio-demographic influences on various consumer food safety indices.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data in the form of 210 questionnaire responses were collected from Goan pork sausage consumers. Based on the responses, seven various consumer food safety indices were derived. The cumulative score of all the indices were normalized (0–1). The association between socio-demographic variables and consumer indices were evaluated using linear regression analysis, Pearson's correlation matrix, principal component analysis (PCA) and correspondence analysis (CA).
Findings
The results of the analysis indicate that the consumption of Goan pork sausages is most prevalent amongst younger people with high education having higher income. A majority of consumers have high score for the four consumer indices. The results of correlation analysis, regression analysis, PCA and CA revealed a significant association of consumer indices with socio-demographic variables.
Originality/value
The results of this study will provide a way forward for the evaluation of existing overall food safety concerns in the target population and in the future would be used for the promotion of good handling practices and health of Goan pork sausage consumers.
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Pratima Rao, Ramesh V. Bhat, R.V. Sudershan and T. Prasanna Krishna
In India, there are various religions and cultures. Several festivals are celebrated through the year, and a variety of specific foods are prepared for each of the festivals. The…
Abstract
Purpose
In India, there are various religions and cultures. Several festivals are celebrated through the year, and a variety of specific foods are prepared for each of the festivals. The aim was to study the extent of consumption of colours during festivals.
Design/methodology/approach
A household survey was carried out in the urban areas of Hyderabad among individuals in the age groups 1‐5 years, 6‐18 years and >18 years from three socio‐economic groups – high, middle, and low income – from government quarters. The respondents of the study were interviewed using a food frequency questionnaire to elicit information on the intake of colours during festivals. The festivals selected for the study were Sankranthi, Diwali, Holi and Christmas.
Findings
The consumption pattern of various foods among all the subjects of the study during the four festivals indicated that a majority of the subjects (44 per cent) consumed sweetmeats. The intake of tartrazine and sunset yellow was observed to be higher during festivals due to the extensive use of these colours in sweetmeats, savouries and beverages that are most commonly available during festivals. The present investigation showed that there has been a shift in the preferences for foods during festivals (i.e. mainly sweetmeats and the type of colours consumed).
Originality/value
As there was an excessive consumption of yellow colours like tartrazine and sunset yellow and lesser consumption of red colours like ponceau 4R and carmoisine, the Indian government needs to take into consideration such situations when setting maximum permissible limits.
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Rachappa Shette, Sudershan Kuntluru and Sunder Ram Korivi
This paper aims to examine the impact of initial public offerings (IPO)-year opportunistic earnings management on long-term market and earnings performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of initial public offerings (IPO)-year opportunistic earnings management on long-term market and earnings performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 150 book-built IPOs over 2001-2006 are analysed based on industry adjusted return on sales and industry adjusted return on assets for six post-IPO years. The quality of earnings is measured in two ways using discretionary accruals and Beneish manipulation score. Modified Jones model is used to estimate the expected accruals and to compute the discretionary accruals for each IPO firm year. Regression model is used to examine the impact of IPO-year quality of earnings on future earnings performance.
Findings
The paper finds that earnings and market performance of IPO companies are abnormally higher in the IPO-year, as compared to the post-IPO years. Similarly, the quality of earnings during the IPO-year is lower than those in the post-IPO years. The results also show that the opportunistic earnings management in IPO-year has significant negative impact on the long-term adjusted earnings and market performance.
Research limitations/implications
The present study is confined to the period from 2001 to 2006 for the purpose of post-IPO analysis for a period of six post-IPO years. Thus, the conclusions of this study are to be viewed with this limitation.
Originality/value
This paper is the first study based on the Indian context to examine the relationship between the quality of earnings of the IPO firm and long-term earnings and market performance.
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Ponts'o Letuka, Jane Nkhebenyane and Oriel Thekisoe
Food safety knowledge and hygienic practices by food handlers play an important role in the prevention of contamination of food prepared.
Abstract
Purpose
Food safety knowledge and hygienic practices by food handlers play an important role in the prevention of contamination of food prepared.
Design/methodology/approach
This descriptive survey was conducted in Maseru around the taxi ranks amongst 48 food handlers and 93 consumers using a semi-structured questionnaire for assessing food handler knowledge, attitudes and practices, open-ended questionnaire for obtaining consumer perceptions and observation checklist.
Findings
Majority of the food handlers were females (60%) and males constituted only (40%). The mean age was 35.5 ± 10.3 and 28.2 ± 9.9 respectively for street vendors and consumers. There was a statistically significant difference in knowledge among the trained and untrained vendors (p = 0040). On average the vendor population that participated in this study was considered to have poor knowledge (scores < 50%) of food safety since they scored 49% ± 11, while 84% of the respondents were considered to have positive attitudes towards food safety. Only 6% of the consumers reported that they never buy street vended foods mainly due to the hygiene issues. The observation checklist showed that the vendors operated under unhygienic conditions and that there was scarcity of clean water supply and hand washing facilities.
Originality/value
This study provides knowledge that was previously unknown about food vending in Lesotho. It has significantly added to the body of knowledge on food safety in Lesotho which can be used to modify policies and structure food safety training for people involved in the informal trade.
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Jafar Sadegh Tabrizi, Leila Nikniaz, Homayoun Sadeghi-Bazargani, Mostafa Farahbakhsh and Zeinab Nikniaz
The purpose of this paper is to determine the food safety knowledge and practices of the Iranian consumers and also its association with socio-demographic characteristics.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the food safety knowledge and practices of the Iranian consumers and also its association with socio-demographic characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
In the present cross-sectional and population-based study, the validated food safety questionnaires applied to 1,500 participants who were selected through multistage stratified cluster sampling from the capital city and regional area of East-Azerbaijan – Iran. The Student t-test and analysis of variance and linear regression were used for statistical analysis.
Findings
Although the overall percentages of mean score for knowledge (77.66 percent) and self-reported practice (70.77 percent) were good, there was a low level of awareness and self-reported practice in some subsections such as optimal heating/cooling temperature, proper thawing techniques and eating raw egg. Female and married respondents had significantly higher mean knowledge score than males (p<0.001) and singles (p=0.04). Residents of regional areas acted more safely than capital city residents (p=0.01).
Research limitations/implications
Despite the good knowledge of some respondents regarding food safety, their food safety practices were poor. It can thus be suggested that the future studies have better focus on investigating the perceived barriers of consumers about food safety practices.
Practical implications
Although the mean knowledge and practice regarding food safety of Iranian consumers was good, yet there is the lack of knowledge and practice on some important factors related to food poisonings such as eating raw or lightly cooked egg or improper heating/thawing practices. So, it is important to develop proper food safety education programs emphasizing on these issues. According to lower food safety knowledge and practice of low-educated, single and male respondents, the educational programs should mainly focus on these groups.
Originality/value
For the development of effective food safety education programs in Iran, learning about the basic knowledge and practice of consumers is essential; however, there is limited data that directly tackles this issue in Iran.
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Canan Talas, Asli Uçar and Ayşe Özfer Özçelik
This paper seeks to determine the attitudes of women, who are mainly in charge of preparing food at home, towards food safety.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to determine the attitudes of women, who are mainly in charge of preparing food at home, towards food safety.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was carried out among 250 married women who were chosen from those enrolled in five Public Education Centers affiliated to the Ministry of Education. The research data were collected through a questionnaire and face‐to‐face interviews.
Findings
The mean food safety attitude score was determined to be 29.97+2.91. The food safety attitudes of women varied according to education and age. Therefore, it is important that food safety education provided is continuous in order for the effects of the education to be lasting.
Originality/value
Food safety requires correct handling from production through consumption. Poor food‐handling practices in the home kitchen are thought to cause a significant number of food borne illnesses. The paper highlights the importance of education that affects food safety practices in the home.