The State of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice in the Food Establishments in the Arab Countries

A scoping review was conducted to study the current state of food safety knowledge, attitudes, practices (KAP) of food handlers in the Arab countries. The literature search identified forty-one studies aligning with the inclusion criteria, and their findings were analyzed and discussed. While studies commonly reported fair to good knowledge of personal hygiene among food handlers, significant gaps remained in proper hand hygiene practices. Additionally, food safety knowledge deficits were particularly pronounced among street vendors and those in low-socioeconomic countries. Despite inconsistencies in results across the studies, widespread misperceptions and deficiencies were evident regarding temperature control of food, sanitation, and cross-contamination prevention. These shortfalls extended to poor practices and sometimes to attitudes that reflected a lack of awareness of their significance, posing a risk of cross-contamination during the preparation, holding, and storage of food, including in healthcare settings. The KAP data indicate a fundamental lack of knowledge in critical food safety areas across the different food sectors, albeit the hospitals and institutional settings performed better. These results underscore the need for ongoing training on hygienic practices and food safety and formalised and targeted educational programs in food safety. A paradigm shift in vocational education and training, reinforced by the right culture and competencies at the level of public authorities and employing practical learning and stringent licensing programs, could help raise the standards of food safety practices.