Food safety knowledge among adult consumers in Bangladesh: a COVID-19 comparative study

Purpose Since the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on all facets of civilisation around the world, including food safety, this study aimed to determine and compare the pre-COVID and post-COVID food safety knowledge of Bangladeshi consumers and their association with sociodemographic variables. Design/methodology/approach The current study performed a cross-sectional survey of 503 consumers who prepared food at least 2–4 times per week through a validated questionnaire, selected through convenience sampling from two metropolitan cities and two rural districts in Bangladesh. The non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Mann–Whitney U tests, Kruskal–Wallis H and binary logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. Findings Although an increased percentage of consumers showed a better level of overall food safety knowledge in the post-pandemic (38.2%) than the pre-pandemic (28.8%), there is a low level of awareness of the appropriate duration of handwashing, foodborne pathogens, consuming raw milk or eggs, safe storage and temperature control of food. University graduates, families with few children and urban consumers had a good understanding of food safety both pre- and post-pandemic. Originality/value This study compares consumers’ pre- and post-COVID-19 food safety knowledge previously unknown in Bangladesh. The findings have significantly contributed to existing food safety knowledge in Bangladesh to adopt policies and structure training programmes for consumers in the country.