The influence of hygiene education on the hygiene status offoodhandlers in catering systems

This study conducted with the aim of observing influence of hygiene education on hygiene status and behaviours. The cleaning conditions of the kitchen surfaces and the utensils used in the kitchen were measured and the effect of the personnel hygiene information level on the kitchen hygiene status was investigated. The study was conducted on 147 food handlers working in 12 different cafeteria kitchen areas of private university campuses in Ankara between November 2017 and February 2018. The research progressed in four stages. In the first stage, a questionnaire form was applied to question the socio-demographic characteristics and the experiences of work. In second stage, hygiene trained with aimed to increase the level of foodhandler's hygiene information. In the third step, 8 different kitchens were observed in the pre and post-training period for the determination of hygiene status of the kitchen. The cafeteria hygiene control form (CHCF) consisting of 5 sections (Food Hygiene, Personnel Hygiene, Kitchen Hygiene, Utensils Hygiene, Storage Hygiene) was filled. In the fourth stage, for determine the adequacy of hygiene practices in the cafeteria, samples were taken from the kitchen surfaces, kitchen tools and staff's hand surfaces by means of swap rods before and after the training and Adenosine Triphosphate Bioluminescence Test (ATPBT) was performed. Foodhandlers have already been trained have higher level of knowledge of hygiene (p<0.05). After training, the average hygiene score of women and males was 52.6 ± 2.9 and 62.5 ± 1.9 increased to 81 ± 2, 80.2 ± 1.5 (p<0.001). As well, the median of KHKF scores was 83.5 (34.5) increased to 89 (25) (p<0.001). Additionally, the median values of ATPBT scores of benches, dining tables and utensils surfaces decreased (p>0.05, p>0.05, p<0.05). The level of staff knowledge is sufficient to prevent food poisoning, and the conversion of information into behavior and exercise is essential. The effectiveness of hygiene training and practices should be increased.