Food safety knowledge and practices of food handlers at a public Sudanese university

The study was conducted to evaluate food safety knowledge and practices of food handlers in twenty-four food premises at nine campuses of Sudan University of Science and Technology (SUST), Khartoum State, Sudan. A structured questionnaire about demographic characteristics, food safety knowledge and practices of one hundred and five respondents was used. Data showed that 95.2% of respondents were Sudanese; 99% were males, the majority were singles, 43.8% were university graduates, 64.8% were in the age group 20-30 years, 100% had good knowledge regarding the importance of maintaining a clean environment in food premises, preparing food in a safe way, danger of food poisoning and 95.4% agreed that it is their responsibility to prevent food poisoning. Food handlers had in general satisfactory practices of personal hygiene; however, 64.8 to 69.5% had some poor practices, particularly not wearing clean aprons, masks, gloves and hair nets. Among the respondents 68.6% received basic training in food safety. The study suggests that mandatory food safety education and training should be organized to strengthen food handlers' knowledge, attitudes and practices in food safety areas which are either weak or lacking. The HACCP system should be implemented in food premises at the university campuses.