Determining the attitudes of employees in an organization providing mass nutrition service towards food allergies and their level of knowledge on food safety

Köse N. (2024). Determining the Attitudes of Employees in an Organization Providing Mass Nutrition Service Towards Food Allergies and Their Level of Knowledge on Food Safety. Master's Thesis, Istanbul Atlas University Graduate Education Institute, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Istanbul. Mass feeding systems are the planning and management of meals eaten outside the home by certain organizations. Food safety must be ensured for quality nutrition service. Food allergies, which have become a public problem around the world, are becoming as important as food safety. This study aims to investigate the attitude of individuals working in the kitchen towards food allergies and their level of knowledge about food safety. This study was conducted on 259 volunteer personnel working at Sardunya Ready Food Production and Service Joint Stock Company between 23.05.2023 and 30.12.2023. The participants' sociodemographic characteristics, food safety knowledge and food allergy knowledge level were questioned with the survey form. Food Safety Knowledge Scale to question individuals' food safety knowledge; Food Allergy Knowledge Level Scale was used to determine the food allergy knowledge level. 179 (%69.11) of the participants were women and 80 (%30.89) were men. 52 (%20.08) of the participants have primary school education, 41 (%15.83) have secondary school education, 55 (%21.24) have high school education and 111 (%42.86) have university education. The most common allergens that the participants knew correctly were %90 peanut allergy and %87.60 milk allergy. The least known allergens are wheat (%26.30) and tree nuts (%41.70). Participants' food safety knowledge scale scores show a statistically significant difference according to their education level (F:26.37;P<.05). When the difference between the groups was examined with the Bonferroni multiple comparison test, it was determined that the food safety knowledge scale scores of people with university education were significantly higher than those of people with primary school, secondary school and high school education. Participants' knowledge about food safety and food allergies increases with their education level. There is a lack of knowledge about common allergenic foods and allergenic food behaviors. In organizations where mass feeding services are provided, regular training of managers on food safety and food allergies can increase the level of knowledge. Keywords: mass nutrition, food safety, food allergy