Poor hygiene in the food service industry is a critical public health concern in the Maldives, and is caused by several issues, such as limited inspections and monitoring, inadequate training and knowledge, and a lack of a regulatory framework. Thus, this study aims to identify the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of food handlers in the Maldives as well as the potential association between the variables (knowledge, attitude, and practice). A total of 290 food handlers from restaurants were surveyed for four months through a quantitative questionnaire; most of them are male, Bangladeshi, and aged 26–35 years old. The result demonstrates that the food handlers have an acceptable level of knowledge (55.5% ± 1.51), an acceptable attitude (3.62 ± 0.51), and a good level of practice (4.18 ± 0.54) in food safety. The food handlers in Malé have poor practices in time and temperature control, especially in thawing and storage, resulting from a lack of training in the temperature danger zone. Work experience influences the level of knowledge, education impacts attitude and training, and work experience and education impact practice. A positive moderate association was observed between knowledge and practices (r_s = 0.536, p < 0.05), knowledge and attitudes (r_s = 0.407, p < 0.05), and practices and attitudes (r_s = 0.317, p < 0.05). Despite the good scores obtained in practices from the self-report questionnaire, the results of the observational assessment made on 102 restaurants exhibit overall poor practices, including deficient time and temperature control, and other categories of food safety need further attention in the design of training processes. This study can help policymakers to review and improve law enforcement to address the current food safety situation in the Maldives and can help businesses to selectively plan food safety training based on the KAPs of Maldivian food handlers.

The aim of this study is to identify the readiness factors of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) for the food manufacturing industry. A multi-method qualitative approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve quality practitioners and three case food companies to identify and explore the LSS readiness factors in the food manufacturing industry. Twenty-eight factors were identified and classified into six LSS readiness factors (RF) in the food manufacturing industry context, namely, management support and leadership, organisational culture readiness, process management, project management, employee involvement, and external relations. This study could benefit managers in the food business as a diagnostic tool to evaluate their readiness to implement LSS prior to investing in the programme. The proposed framework identifies LSS readiness dimensions and their attributes to enable food businesses to conduct readiness level self-assessments, thereby contributing to the successful implementation of LSS in the food manufacturing industry. The determined readiness factors will potentially enable an organisational transformation to be better understood, making the implementation of LSS practices in food businesses more successful and sustainable.

The role of organizational influencers on foodservice employees’ motivation to follow safe handling practices was explored. Data were collected from 311 employees with no supervisory responsibilities working in commercial and non-commercial foodservices. Employees identified level of agreement with eight organizational influencers that motivate them to follow safe food-handling practices. Data were analyzed to determine if differences in motivation by influencers existed among employees with different demographic characteristics. Age, years of foodservice experience and work status impacted motivations of both commercial and non-commercial employees. Future research could test a comprehensive measure of organizational influencers on employees’ safe food-handling practices.

This study was conducted to identify the current temperature control practices and determine the perceived barriers and motivators of school food handlers during cooking and holding process. A total of seven focus group discussions (FGD) were carried out with 64 food handlers using purposive sampling method from selected school canteens in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Audio-recordings were transcribed into verbatim, and data were analyzed using Atlas.ti software. Data-driven coding was done and independently coded by a second researcher to obtain intercoder reliability. Findings reveal that the participants do not use thermometer during cooking. Hot holding equipment (i.e., bain-marie) were not commonly used for students’ food. For the perceived barriers of thermometer use during cooking, time constraint was the most frequently mentioned barrier reported. Other barriers identified were inadequate knowledge, no thermometer, not a requirement, and inconvenience. The perceived barriers for using hot holding equipment were inadequate resources and uncertainty of business contract renewal. On the other hand, motivators to perform overall temperature control practices were determined: 1) law and enforcement, 2) customer satisfaction, 3) resources, 4) intrinsic motivation, and 5) knowledge and training. Findings from this study can be applied in food safety intervention programs to increase food handlers' compliance with proper temperature control practices.

Government hospital kitchens in Malaysia have been certified with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) to ensure that cooked food is clean and safe for consumption. However, the performances of the Food Safety Assurance System (FSAS)-certified government hospital kitchens have not been evaluated. Although researchers in Malaysia have assessed the knowledge, attitude, and self-reported practices (KAP) on food safety (FS) and hygiene among food handlers, they did not relate the influence of food handlers’ KAP on the performance of the FSAS. The objective of the study was to relate food handlers’ KAP on FS and hygiene to the FSAS performance in government hospital kitchens in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Four government hospital kitchens implementing different kinds of FSAS certification were evaluated. Critical sampling locations were identified, and samples were taken and examined for Escherichia coli, Total Yeast and Mould Count (TYMC), Staphylococcus aureus, Total Plate Count (TPC), and Salmonella. The average scores of knowledges on FS and hygiene for ≤ 30 years age group, ≤ 5 years in the employment group, and food handlers with tertiary education were the highest and significantly different compared with the other groups. The FS output of government hospital kitchens implementing stringent FSAS was better (score of 2–3) than kitchens implementing less stringent FSAS (score of 2). The multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that the correlations among the overall percentage scores of KAP and the FS output were not significant (p > 0.05). Therefore, it appeared that food handlers’ KAP on FS and hygiene did not influence Salmonella, E. coli, and S. aureus levels and, therefore, the FSAS’ performance.