Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAPS) regarding food adulteration: A national cross-sectional study in Lebanon

Abstract

Introduction: Food adulteration is a crime involving the selling of impure foods which do not conform to basic food standards. There are different ways of adulteration food and plenty of substances are used to adulterate the food, aka adulterants. Objective: The objective of this study is to 1) investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Lebanese adults towards food adulteration, and 2) identify factors associated with food adulteration. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted online among Lebanese citizens or residents of Lebanon that are at least 18 years of age. The online survey was shared in social media, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter). Results: Amongst 499 participants, 73.1% had a low knowledge score and 26.9% had a high knowledge score. Participants with undergraduate degrees had higher scores than those only with a high school diploma and ones with master’s degree had higher scores than both. People aged 30-39 had better knowledge than those aged 18-29. The participants who are still students had lower scores than the ones who are employed. The relationship between knowledge score and employment also proved to be statistically significant (with a p-value < 0.05) in the multiple regression proving that students had lower scores than employed participants. Conclusion: Food adulteration is a global problem and spreading awareness is the first step to start decreasing it. More future studies must be conducted.