Bridging food safety gaps: knowledge, attitudes, and practices of smallholder broiler farmers in Kenya

Informal peri-urban broiler production contributes to livelihoods and poultry supply in Kenya; however, inadequate hygiene during on-farm slaughter and distribution poses food safety risks. This study assessed food safety knowledge, attitudes and reported practices among peri-urban smallholder broiler farmers. A cross-sectional survey of 325 farmers in Kiambu and Nairobi Counties was conducted using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Scores were generated for knowledge, attitudes and practices, and logistic regression identified factors associated with good reported practices. Women constituted 65.2% of respondents. Although 79.4% demonstrated high knowledge of contamination sources and 67.4% expressed positive food safety attitudes, only 29.8% reported good practices, indicating a marked knowledge-practice gap. More than half reported never sanitizing work surfaces between processing batches, replacing scalding water, inspecting carcasses, wearing protective clothing during slaughter or chilling poultry before transportation. Primary education was associated with lower odds of high knowledge (OR = 0.319, p = 0.025), positive attitudes (OR = 0.069, p < 0.001) and good practices (OR = 0.355, p = 0.042). After adjustment for age and education, knowledge of contamination sources was positively associated with good practices, whereas knowledge of foodborne pathogens was inversely associated. Attitudes showed no independent association with practices. These findings support practical training and minimum hygiene standards for Kenya’s informal broiler sector.