Development of a food handling practices assessment tool based on the Sri Lanka food regulations
Objectives: Neither the current assessment tool of Sri Lanka for food establishments is based on prevailing Food Regulations 2011 nor did its focus cover serious adaptions for precautions upon prevention of the diseases. The study aims to develop a food handling practices assessment tool based on th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2023-09-01
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| Series: | SAGE Open Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121231196009 |
| _version_ | 1827823185589960704 |
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| author | Lasantha Krishan Hirimuthugoda Padmal De Silva Palitha Abeykoon Sameer Altaf Tunio Hasadari Pamoda Madarasinghe |
| author_facet | Lasantha Krishan Hirimuthugoda Padmal De Silva Palitha Abeykoon Sameer Altaf Tunio Hasadari Pamoda Madarasinghe |
| author_sort | Lasantha Krishan Hirimuthugoda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: Neither the current assessment tool of Sri Lanka for food establishments is based on prevailing Food Regulations 2011 nor did its focus cover serious adaptions for precautions upon prevention of the diseases. The study aims to develop a food handling practices assessment tool based on the Sri Lanka Food Regulations 2011 and to assess food handling practices using a developed tool in the Regional Director of Health Services area, Kalutara. Methods: The study consisted of developing food establishments’ assessment tool (FEAT) in accordance with Food (Hygiene-1742/26) Regulations of Sri Lanka 2011 and assessing the food establishments using the developed tool in the Regional Director of Health Services area, Kalutara, Sri Lanka. The development of FEAT was carried out to mark inspection scores for food establishments conforming to Food Regulations, others reviewed international food safety protocols and agreements following key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Fully developed FEAT was transferred to a mobile application for ease of use, and assessments were conducted among 421 food establishments in three Medical Officer of Health areas. Results: FEAT contained 11 domains including 75 items with more than 100 assessment points including a guide to conducting an assessment of food handling, compared to the current version of the assessment tool in Sri Lanka. The majority of participants included in the qualitative assessment agreed to include a 1–5 scoring scale to report hygiene levels and to use hygiene regulation to develop FEAT as a legal basis. The highest percentage of food establishments (69.4%) in the “Good” category were in the Bandaragama Medical Officer of Health Area and the highest percentage of food establishments (54.5%) in the “very poor” category were in the Walallawita Medical Officer of Health Area. Food establishments taking precautionary measures, which are not assessed in the current tool, were good, but maintenance of processing area and installation of overhead structures and fitting were poor in food establishments in all three Medical Officer of Health Areas. Conclusions: The novel food assessment tool FEAT is a completely valid instrument for food establishments. It is designed for easy administration and supports reliable assessments. Overall food handling practices of food establishments in the Kalutara Regional Director of Health Services area following assessment with FEAT were in the “satisfactory” category. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:08:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c8455f5b5d4b4c7eb013547f9cc63e39 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-3121 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:08:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SAGE Open Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-c8455f5b5d4b4c7eb013547f9cc63e392023-09-07T01:03:28ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open Medicine2050-31212023-09-011110.1177/20503121231196009Development of a food handling practices assessment tool based on the Sri Lanka food regulationsLasantha Krishan Hirimuthugoda0Padmal De Silva1Palitha Abeykoon2Sameer Altaf Tunio3Hasadari Pamoda Madarasinghe4Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USAWorld Health Organization, Country Office, Colombo, Sri LankaWorld Health Organization, Country Office, Colombo, Sri LankaIllinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USAMinistry of Health, Colombo, Sri LankaObjectives: Neither the current assessment tool of Sri Lanka for food establishments is based on prevailing Food Regulations 2011 nor did its focus cover serious adaptions for precautions upon prevention of the diseases. The study aims to develop a food handling practices assessment tool based on the Sri Lanka Food Regulations 2011 and to assess food handling practices using a developed tool in the Regional Director of Health Services area, Kalutara. Methods: The study consisted of developing food establishments’ assessment tool (FEAT) in accordance with Food (Hygiene-1742/26) Regulations of Sri Lanka 2011 and assessing the food establishments using the developed tool in the Regional Director of Health Services area, Kalutara, Sri Lanka. The development of FEAT was carried out to mark inspection scores for food establishments conforming to Food Regulations, others reviewed international food safety protocols and agreements following key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Fully developed FEAT was transferred to a mobile application for ease of use, and assessments were conducted among 421 food establishments in three Medical Officer of Health areas. Results: FEAT contained 11 domains including 75 items with more than 100 assessment points including a guide to conducting an assessment of food handling, compared to the current version of the assessment tool in Sri Lanka. The majority of participants included in the qualitative assessment agreed to include a 1–5 scoring scale to report hygiene levels and to use hygiene regulation to develop FEAT as a legal basis. The highest percentage of food establishments (69.4%) in the “Good” category were in the Bandaragama Medical Officer of Health Area and the highest percentage of food establishments (54.5%) in the “very poor” category were in the Walallawita Medical Officer of Health Area. Food establishments taking precautionary measures, which are not assessed in the current tool, were good, but maintenance of processing area and installation of overhead structures and fitting were poor in food establishments in all three Medical Officer of Health Areas. Conclusions: The novel food assessment tool FEAT is a completely valid instrument for food establishments. It is designed for easy administration and supports reliable assessments. Overall food handling practices of food establishments in the Kalutara Regional Director of Health Services area following assessment with FEAT were in the “satisfactory” category.https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121231196009 |
| spellingShingle | Lasantha Krishan Hirimuthugoda Padmal De Silva Palitha Abeykoon Sameer Altaf Tunio Hasadari Pamoda Madarasinghe Development of a food handling practices assessment tool based on the Sri Lanka food regulations SAGE Open Medicine |
| title | Development of a food handling practices assessment tool based on the Sri Lanka food regulations |
| title_full | Development of a food handling practices assessment tool based on the Sri Lanka food regulations |
| title_fullStr | Development of a food handling practices assessment tool based on the Sri Lanka food regulations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of a food handling practices assessment tool based on the Sri Lanka food regulations |
| title_short | Development of a food handling practices assessment tool based on the Sri Lanka food regulations |
| title_sort | development of a food handling practices assessment tool based on the sri lanka food regulations |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121231196009 |
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