Food safety practices in female food handlers in catering services, Wuhu City, China

Poor food safety (FS) practices play a role in transmission of food-borne diseases. However, factors responsible for poor food-handling practices in catering services are not entirely understood. By way of questionnaire, the present work investigated the food-handling practices of females in catering businesses in Wuhu City, Anhui Province, China. Of 424 interviewees, 122 (28.8%) self-reported having poor FS practices such as infrequent separation of animal- and plant-based foods and seafood during cleaning (75.5%), frequent indoor storage of perishable foods at temperatures between 8 and 60°C (59.0%), infrequent separation of raw materials in containers or the tools used during storage and processing (56.4%), and infrequent refrigeration of cold dishes (44.8%). Demographic factors associated with poor FS practices included age, average monthly income, work experience, and FS training. Respondents aged 18 - 49 years or with no FS training were more likely to report poor FS practices than individuals ≥ 50 years or with FS training. Respondents with an average monthly income ranging US$ 414 - 966 and individuals with 5 - 6 years of work experience were less likely to report poor FS practices than respondents with a monthly income < US$ 414 or < 1 year of work experience. Supervision and training of female caterer FS practices will reduce the incidence of food-borne diseases in catering services.