Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Towards Poultry Handling and Salmonella Risk Among Households in Beirut, Lebanon

Abstract

Food poisoning or food-borne disease (FBD) is defined as an illness that results from consuming foods contaminated with bacteria, their toxins, viruses, or parasites. Food poisoning due to improper food handling is a major public health problem globally. FBD’s are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In Lebanon, there exists a plethora of challenges which affect the consumption of safe food. Poultry has been identified as a common food vehicle for many pathogens, such as Salmonella spp. This bacterium can contribute to serious range of illnesses such as gastroenteritis which includes abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. FBD’s may be prevented and reduced with increased consumer food safety practices and knowledge. This study aimed to examine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) towards poultry handling among households in Beirut, Lebanon, and to identify factors that affect KAP levels. Unfortunately, there still exists numerous misconceptions on handling chicken, therefore, this study intended to address this research gap. A cross-sectional study was conducted through face-to-face interviews among 125 households in different areas of Beirut. The interview was divided into four main parts: sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices. The results showed that the consumers knowledge and practices were inadequate, however, their attitude was positive. Those between 43-55 years old had higher odds of having good level of knowledge compared to those between 18-29 years old (OR = 3.889, p = 0.02). Nonetheless, those with a college education were 7.442 times more likely to have a positive attitude towards food safety compared to those with no previous formal education (p=0.005). The majority of the participants (91.2%) do not check their refrigerator and freezer temperatures regularly. Furthermore, there were significant associations (p=0.000) between the different KAP levels. This study was intended to raise public awareness regarding handling chicken directed towards minimizing food-borne illnesses through evaluating food handlers’ knowledge and behaviors.