Displaying publications 21 - 40 of 78 in total

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  1. The effect of food safety education on handwashing practices in school canteens’ food handlers
    Nik Rosmawati N, Wan Manan W, Noor Izani N, Nik Nurain N, Razlina A
    Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:2119-2128.
    This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a newly developed food safety education to improve the handwashing
    practices of food handlers in school canteens. A community-based intervention study was carried out over a 2-year period.
    Sixteen out of 98 primary schools were randomly selected and assigned into intervention and control groups using a
    simple random sampling method. The study population included food handlers who worked in the canteens of the school
    selected. The Food Safety Education Programme (FSEP) for the intervention group was developed based on the theory of
    planned behaviour. The main outcome measures used were handwashing practices from the observations carried out at
    baseline, 6-weeks (Post1) and 12-weeks (Post2) after the intervention. Out of 79 food handlers who participated in this
    study, 33 (41.8%) were in the intervention group and 46 (58.2%) were in the control group. Prior to FSEP, handwashing
    was not commonly practiced following critical events and the majority did not perform correctly. The time-effect of the
    mixed design analysis of variance showed a significant increase (p=0.004) in the mean percentage of the total observed
    handwashing practices from 29% at the baseline to 50.8% at Post1 (p=0.004). However, the intervention-effect of mixed
    design ANOVA did not show any significant difference in the handwashing practices (p=0.210). The FSEP was effective in
    improving the handwashing practices of the food handlers in the selected primary school canteens.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  2. Fulltext Prevalence and quantification of Vibrio species and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in freshwater fish at hypermarket level
    Noorlis, A., Ghazali, F.M., Cheah, Y.K., Tuan Zainazor, T.C., Ponniah, J., Tunung, R., et al.
    International Food Research Journal, 2011;18(2):689-695.
    MyJurnal
    Little is known on the biosafety level of Vibrio spp. in freshwater fish in Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and concentration of Vibrio spp. and V. parahaemolyticus in
    freshwater fish using the Most Probable Number-Polymerase Chain Reaction (MPN-PCR) method. The study was conducted on 150 samples from two types of freshwater fish commonly sold at hypermarkets, i.e. Pangasius hypophthalmus (catfish) and Oreochromis sp. (red tilapia). Sampling was done on the flesh, intestinal tract and gills of each fish. The prevalence of Vibrio spp. and V. parahaemolyticus was found to be 98.67% and 24% respectively with higher percentages detected in samples from the gills followed by the intestinal tract and flesh. Vibrio spp. was detected in almost all red tilapia and catfish samples. V. parahaemolyticus was detected in 25% of the catfish samples compared to 22.6% of red tilapia fish. The density of Vibrio spp. and V. parahaemolyticus in the samples ranged from 0 to 1.1x107 MPN/g. Although the maximum value was 1.1x107 MPN/g, most samples had microbial loads ranging from 0 to >104 MPN/g. The outcome on the biosafety assessment of Vibrio spp. and V. parahaemolyticus in freshwater fish indicates another potential source of food safety issues to consumers.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  3. Fulltext Consumers’ demand and willingness to pay for rice attributes in Malaysia
    Ahmad Hanis, I.A.H., Jinap, S, Mad Nasir, S., Alias, R., Muhammad Shahrim, A.K.
    International Food Research Journal, 2012;19(1):363-369.
    MyJurnal
    The growth of the Malaysian’s per capita income has generally empowered consumers to have more choices for food, more purchasing power, health consciousness and demand for more nutritional values of their food intake. Motivated by the changes in Malaysian consumer’s food choice, a conjoint analysis was performed to investigate Malaysian consumers’ demand for rice attributes and how much consumers are willing to pay for the demanded attribute. A conjoint analysis is a method used in identifying and understanding the combined effects of product attributes on preferences for a product or service. In conjoint analysis, utility is the conceptual basis for assessing the value of a product or service, where individuals make decisions between bundles of products based on their budget constraints. The findings suggested that the most important attribute for rice was food safety, followed by taste and size of grain. Consumers were also willing to pay premium prices for the demanded attributes. The findings would have positive implications for the agrifood industry if it responds effectively to translate into business opportunities to these changes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  4. Fulltext Applications of Photonics in Agriculture Sector: A Review
    Yeong TJ, Pin Jern K, Yao LK, Hannan MA, Hoon STG
    Molecules, 2019 May 27;24(10).
    PMID: 31137897 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24102025
    The agricultural industry has made a tremendous contribution to the foundations of civilization. Basic essentials such as food, beverages, clothes and domestic materials are enriched by the agricultural industry. However, the traditional method in agriculture cultivation is labor-intensive and inadequate to meet the accelerating nature of human demands. This scenario raises the need to explore state-of-the-art crop cultivation and harvesting technologies. In this regard, optics and photonics technologies have proven to be effective solutions. This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of three photonic techniques, namely imaging, spectroscopy and spectral imaging, in a comparative manner for agriculture applications. Essentially, the spectral imaging technique is a robust solution which combines the benefits of both imaging and spectroscopy but faces the risk of underutilization. This review also comprehends the practicality of all three techniques by presenting existing examples in agricultural applications. Furthermore, the potential of these techniques is reviewed and critiqued by looking into agricultural activities involving palm oil, rubber, and agro-food crops. All the possible issues and challenges in implementing the photonic techniques in agriculture are given prominence with a few selective recommendations. The highlighted insights in this review will hopefully lead to an increased effort in the development of photonics applications for the future agricultural industry.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  5. Fulltext Development and Validation of Nutrition and Food Safety Educational Material for Fish Processors in Nigeria
    Adegoye GA, Tolar-Peterson T, Ene-Obong HN, Nuntah JN, Pasqualino MM, Mathews R, et al.
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2023 Mar 10;20(6).
    PMID: 36981799 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20064891
    INTRODUCTION: fish can be an affordable and accessible animal-source food in many Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC).

    BACKGROUND: Traditional fish processing methods pose a risk of exposing fish to various contaminants that may reduce their nutritional benefit. In addition, a lack of literacy may increase women fish processors' vulnerability to malnutrition and foodborne diseases.

    OBJECTIVE: The overall aim of the project was to educate women and youth fish processors in Delta State, Nigeria about the benefit of fish in the human diet and to develop low literacy tools to help them better market their products. The objective of this study was to describe the development and validation of a low-literacy flipbook designed to teach women fish processors about nutrition and food safety.

    METHOD: developing and validating instructional material requires understanding the population, high-quality and relevant graphics, and the involvement of relevant experts to conduct the content validation using the Content Validity Index (CVI) and the index value translated with the Modified Kappa Index (k).

    RESULT: The Item-level Content Validity Index (I-CVI) value of all domains evaluated at the initial stage was 0.83 and the Scale-level Content Validity Index (S-CVI) was 0.90. At the final stage, the material was validated with CVI 0.983 by four experts and satisfied the expected minimum CVI value for this study (CVI ≥ 0.83, p-value = 0.05). The overall evaluation of the newly developed and validated flipbook was "excellent".

    CONCLUSIONS: the developed material was found to be appropriate for training fish processors in Nigeria in nutrition and food safety and could be modified for a population of fish processors in other LMICs.

    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  6. Safety assessment of widely used fermented virgin coconut oil (Cocos nucifera) in Malaysia: Chronic toxicity studies and SAR analysis of the active components
    Ibrahim AH, Khan MS, Al-Rawi SS, Ahamed MB, Majid AS, Al-Suede FS, et al.
    Regul Toxicol Pharmacol, 2016 Nov;81:457-467.
    PMID: 27756558 DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2016.10.004
    Fermented Virgin Coconut Oil (FVCO) is widely used in the Southeast Asia as food and traditional medicine. The objective of the present study is the evaluation of chronic safety of the commercialized FVCO of Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries. A single dose of 5000 mg/kg of FVCO was administered orally in rats (each group, n = 5) for the acute toxicity study and 175, 550 and 2000 mg/kg for sub-chronic and chronic studies (each group, n = 10), respectively. The behavior, mortality, and body weight of the rats were assessed to determine the toxic effects of FVCO. The haematology, biochemistry and histopathology of the treated rats were evaluated. The treated rats were safe with the dose of 5000 mg/kg in acute, sub-chronic and chronic indication. Abnormal clinical signs and morphology (gross necroscopy), changes of organ weight, anomalous haematology and biochemistry indexes were not found in comparison with the control (p > 0.05). In general, food and water intake were higher in the treated rats related to control. It was concluded that the presence of the antioxidant active compounds of FVCO might be the reason of safety. The structure activity relationship (SAR) provides a comprehensive mechanism to determine the safety that is the presence of the electron donating phenolic groups, carbonyl groups, and carboxylic acid in the ortho and meta position of the aromatic rings. The SAR showed the antioxidant properties of myristic acid and lauric acid determined by GC-MS analysis. This result suggests the safety of FVCO for chronic use, nutritional activity that FVCO formulation complies the requirements of regulatory agencies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety*
  7. Fulltext A Colorimetric pH Sensor Based on Clitoria sp and Brassica sp for Monitoring of Food Spoilage Using Chromametry
    Ahmad NA, Yook Heng L, Salam F, Mat Zaid MH, Abu Hanifah S
    Sensors (Basel), 2019 Nov 05;19(21).
    PMID: 31694284 DOI: 10.3390/s19214813
    A developed colorimetric pH sensor film based on edible materials for real-time monitoring of food freshness is described. The mixed natural dyes from edible plants Clitoria sp and Brassica sp were extracted and incorporated into ι-carrageenan film as a colorimetric pH sensor film for monitoring food spoilage and its freshness. The color changes of the developed colorimetric sensor film were measured with chromametry and UV-vis spectroscopy, respectively. Experimental results show that colorimetric pH sensor film demonstrated statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between CIE-L*a*b* coordinates color system indicated that the developed colorimetric sensor film was able to give a gradual change in color over a wide pH range. The color of the colorimetric sensor film also changes discretely and linearly with factors that contribute to food spoilage using shrimp and durian samples. Moreover, the developed colorimetric pH sensor film has the potential to be used as a safe, non-destructive testing and also a flexibly visual method for direct assessment of food freshness indicator during storage.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety*
  8. Food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices among consumers in developing countries: An international survey
    Odeyemi OA, Sani NA, Obadina AO, Saba CKS, Bamidele FA, Abughoush M, et al.
    Food Res Int, 2019 02;116:1386-1390.
    PMID: 30716930 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2018.10.030
    An international survey among consumers in developing countries from Asia and Africa on food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) was carried out using structured questionnaires. Data were collected from 453 consumers comprising 265 from Africa and 188 from Asia. Significant difference (p food safety knowledge attitude and practice between consumers from Africa and Asia was observed. In Africa, consumers in Cameroon had the least food safety knowledge (73.15 ± 16.43) compared to Ghana (78.19 ± 15.84) and Nigeria (88.16 ± 8.88). Similarly, consumers in Iran had the least food safety knowledge (73.33 ± 19.84) in Asia compared to Malaysia (88.36 ± 11.64) and Pakistan (89.42 ± 9.89). Among the respondents, 89% were aware of food poisoning while 304 (67.1%) consume food kept for long at room temperature. There was significant difference (p food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of consumers between Africa and Asia. Overall, respondents from Asia have better food safety knowledge than respondents from Africa.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety*
  9. Fulltext Microplastics Pollution as an Invisible Potential Threat to Food Safety and Security, Policy Challenges and the Way Forward
    Usman S, Abdull Razis AF, Shaari K, Amal MNA, Saad MZ, Mat Isa N, et al.
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 Dec 21;17(24).
    PMID: 33371479 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17249591
    Technological advances, coupled with increasing demands by consumers, have led to a drastic increase in plastic production. After serving their purposes, these plastics reach our water bodies as their destination and become ingested by aquatic organisms. This ubiquitous phenomenon has exposed humans to microplastics mostly through the consumption of sea food. This has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to make an urgent call for the assessment of environmental pollution due to microplastics and its effect on human health. This review summarizes studies between 1999 and 2020 in relation to microplastics in aquatic ecosystems and human food products, their potential toxic effects as elicited in animal studies, and policies on their use and disposal. There is a paucity of information on the toxicity mechanisms of microplastics in animal studies, and despite their documented presence in food products, no policy has been in place so far, to monitor and regulates microplastics in commercial foods meant for human consumption. Although there are policies and regulations with respect to plastics, these are only in a few countries and in most instances are not fully implemented due to socioeconomic reasons, so they do not address the problem across the entire life cycle of plastics from production to disposal. More animal research to elucidate pathways and early biomarkers of microplastic toxicity that can easily be detected in humans is needed. This is to create awareness and influence policies that will address this neglected threat to food safety and security.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety*
  10. Fulltext Food safety knowledge, attitude, and practice toward compliance with abattoir laws among the abattoir workers in Malaysia
    Abdullahi A, Hassan A, Kadarman N, Saleh A, Baraya YS, Lua PL
    Int J Gen Med, 2016;9:79-87.
    PMID: 27110137 DOI: 10.2147/IJGM.S98436
    Foodborne diseases are common in the developing countries due to the predominant poor food handling and sanitation practices, particularly as a result of inadequate food safety laws, weak regulatory structures, and inadequate funding as well as a lack of appropriate education for food-handlers. The most frequently involved foods in disease outbreaks are of animal origin. However, in spite of the adequate legislation and laws governing the abattoir operation in Malaysia, compliance with food safety requirements during meat processing and waste disposal is inadequate. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the food safety knowledge, attitude, and practice toward compliance with abattoir laws among the workers in Terengganu, Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  11. Health risk assessments of heavy metal exposure via consumption of marine mussels collected from anthropogenic sites
    Yap CK, Cheng WH, Karami A, Ismail A
    Sci Total Environ, 2016 May 15;553:285-96.
    PMID: 26925739 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.092
    A total of 40 marine mussel Perna viridis populations collected (2002-2009) from 20 geographical sites located in two busy shipping lanes namely the Straits of Malacca (10 sites; 16 populations) and the Straits of Johore (8 sites; 21 populations) and three populations (2 sites) on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, was determined for Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations. In comparison with the maximum permissible limits (MPLs) set by existing food safety guidelines, all metal concentrations found in all the mussel populations were lower than the prescribed MPLs. In terms of the provisional tolerable weekly intake prescribed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and oral reference doses (ORDs) by the USEPA, all the studied metals (except for Pb) were unlikely to become the limiting factors or unlikely to pose a risk for the consumption of the mussel populations. The estimated daily intake (EDI) for average level mussel (ALM) and high level mussel (HLM) consumers of mussels was found to be lower than the ORD guidelines for Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni and Zn. Furthermore, the target hazard quotient (THQ) was found to be less than 1 for ALM consumers but higher than 1 for HLM consumers in some sites. Therefore, there were no potential human health risks to the ALM consumers of the mussels. However, for Pb THQ values, the Pb levels in some mussel populations could create a health risk problem. Present results indicate that the consumption amounts of mussels should be limited for minimizing potential health risks of heavy metals to the HLM consumers.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  12. Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of food allergies among food handlers in the state of Penang, Malaysia
    Shafie AA, Azman AW
    Public Health, 2015 Sep;129(9):1278-84.
    PMID: 25931434 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2015.03.016
    Food handler's knowledge, attitude and practice regarding food allergies are important to prevent debilitating and sometimes fatal reactions. This study aimed to assess their food allergy knowledge, attitude and practice, which could help to maintain the safety and hygiene of food consumed by the public.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  13. Fulltext Isolation and identification of common bacteria causing Subclinical Mastitis in dairy goats
    Omar, S., Mat-Kamir, N.F.
    International Food Research Journal, 2018;25(4):1668-1674.
    MyJurnal
    The purpose of the current study was to isolate and identify subclinical mastitis causing bacteria from milk samples of dairy goats. The milk samples from individual dairy goats were collected from several dairy goat farms around Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Major bacterial isolates were Staphylococcus spp. (73.2%). Coagulase negative staphylococci encompassing 68.3% of the isolates, whereas 4.9% was coagulase positive staphylococci. Bacillus spp. constituted 12.2% out of the isolates. Listeria spp. and Neisseria spp. both were represented 7.3%. There is a need to discuss the potential hazards of these bacteria in affecting milk quality, health of goats and food safety to consumers. The findings also emphasize the need to study the exact species of bacteria isolated in order to plan for their prevention as well as to assist veterinarians in prescribing correct antibiotic therapy.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  14. Survey-based data on food security, nutrition and agricultural production shocks among rural farming households in northern Uganda
    Mwungu CM, Shikuku KM, Atibo C, Mwongera C
    Data Brief, 2019 Apr;23:103818.
    PMID: 31372462 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2019.103818
    Climate change, degradation of natural resources, conflict or civil war, diseases and poverty are among the key threats that impact agriculture, human nutrition, food security and food safety among rural households in developing countries. Sustainability of food systems and livelihoods will thus crucially depend on not only the ability to accommodate or recover from these threats but also to tap into opportunities for strengthening long-term capabilities. One approach to enhancing resilience to enhance food security and nutrition is building an evidence base to better understand the various types of smallholders, threats to agriculture production and the associated risks to food security and nutrition and household food preferences. Unfortunately, such data in many African countries is still unavailable or has not been shared publicly. In this paper, we describe data that were collected in Nwoya district, Northern Uganda in December 2017. These data can be used to assess the relationship between resilience of farm households to climatic risks and their food and nutrition security.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  15. Fulltext Antibacterial activity of ethanolic Piper cubeba L. extract against Escherichia coli and its effect on microbiological quality of raw chicken meat during storage
    Fazly Ann, Z., Rukayadi, Y.
    International Food Research Journal, 2019;26(3):933-944.
    MyJurnal
    Piper cubeba L. is traditionally recognised as flavouring ingredient in various types of foods and has been used to marinate meat. Scientifically, it has been reported to possess various valuable nutritional and pharmacological properties including antimicrobial potential. The aim of the present work was to determine the antibacterial activity of ethanolic P. cubeba L. extract against Escherichia coli and its effect on the microbiological quality of raw chicken meat during storage. Disc diffusion assay was done and resulted in 8.40 ± 0.10 mm of inhibition zone. The bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects of the extract were determined at 0.63 ± 0.00 mg/mL and 1.25 ± 0.00 mg/mL of concentration by MIC and MBC methods, respectively. The killing time was recorded at 2 × MIC (1.25 mg/mL) for 4 h. The application of the extract on chicken meat samples showed reduction in TPC and E. coli count with the observed optimum condition at 5.00% concentration stored at -18°C for 14 days based on the consistent reduction. Sensory attributes acceptability evaluation by 9-point hedonic scale showed acceptable score for colour, odour, texture and overall acceptability of the treated raw chicken meat samples. The findings implies that P. cubeba L. can be listed as one of the alternatives to reduce the bacterial load of raw chicken meat prior to cooking which is very important in ensuring food safety as well as reducing the occurrence of foodborne poisoning associated with chicken meat.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  16. Fulltext Interactive games to improve knowledge on food poisoning prevention among school children in Cheras
    Mohd Safwan Ibrahim, Noriah Hajib, Mohd Fadhli Mohd Fauzi, Erma Nur Shadila Mahamad Najadi
    Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(104):98-98.
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Food poisoning may occur as single sporadic cases or massive outbreak in any institution, including boarding schools. Early this year, Cheras District Health Office had implemented set of interactive games on food safety programme at two boarding schools in Cheras which had repeated incidences of food poisoning outbreak. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of interactive games on knowledge of food safety among school children in Cheras. Methods: This study is a retrospective study based on secondary data. Two boarding school with total of 135 students were. The students were divided into 4 groups and participates in all 4 modules of interactive games. There were 10 items pre and post questionnaire on food safety knowledge collected during the program with score ranged zero to ten. The data were analysed descriptively and analytically with paired t test. Results: The response rate of this study was 100 %. Majority of the respondents were Malays (68.1%) and male (66.7%). The mean score at pre and post were 6.78 and 7.72 respectively. Paired t test showed that there was a significant increase of 0.94 mean score of knowledge after the programme (p-value < 0.05, CI 95%= -1.212, -0.664). Conclusion: The knowledge scores on food safety of the students increased significantly after the interactive game. However, without control group, the improvement cannot be said solely due to the program itself.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  17. Nonlinear effects of increasing nitrogen deposition on rice growth and heavy metal uptake in a red soil ecosystem of southeastern China
    Wang J, Yi X, Cui J, Chang Y, Yao D, Zhou D, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2019 Jun 20;670:1060-1067.
    PMID: 31018421 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.245
    With the population growth, urbanization and industrialization, China has become a hotspot of atmospheric deposition nitrogen (ADN), which is a threat to ecosystem and food safety. However, the impacts of increased ADN on rice growth and grain metal content are little studied. Based on previous long-term ADN studies, greenhouse experiment was conducted with four simulated ADN rates of 0, 30, 60 and 90 kg N ha-1 yr-1 (CK, N1, N2 and N3 as δ15N, respectively) to assess rice growth and metal uptake in a red soil ecosystem of southeast China during 2016-2017. Results showed that simulated ADN could promote rice growth and increase yields by 15.68-24.41% (except N2) and accumulations of cadmium (Cd) or copper (Cu) in organs. However, there was no linear relationship between ADN rate and rice growth or Cd or Cu uptake. The 15N-ADN was mainly accumulated in roots (21.31-67.86%) and grains (25.26-49.35%), while Cd and Cu were primarily accumulated in roots (78.86-93.44% and 90.00-96.24%, respectively). 15N-ADN and Cd accumulations in roots were significantly different between the two growing seasons (p 
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  18. Current status of food safety hazards and health risks connected with aquatic food products from Southeast Asian region
    Gao P, Mohd Noor NQI, Md Shaarani S
    Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2020 Dec 28.
    PMID: 33356490 DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1866490
    Food safety issues associated with aquatic food products become more important with the increasing consumption and followed by its ongoing challenges. The objective of this paper is to review the food safety hazards and health risks related to aquatic food products for the Southeast Asian region. These hazards can be categorized as microplastics (MPs) hazard, biological hazards (pathogenic bacteria, biogenic amines, viruses, parasites), and chemical hazards (antimicrobial, formaldehyde, heavy metal). In different Southeast Asian countries, the potential health risks of aquatic food products brought by food hazards to consumers were at different intensity and classes. Among all these hazards, pathogenic bacteria, antimicrobials, and heavy metal were a particular concern in the Southeast Asian region. With environmental changes, evolving consumption patterns, and the globalization of trade, new food safety challenges are created, which put forward higher requirements on food technologies, food safety regulations, and international cooperation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  19. Fulltext Structural equation modelling of food safety knowledge, attitude and practices among consumers in Malaysia
    Soon JM, Wahab IRA, Hamdan RH, Jamaludin MH
    PLoS One, 2020;15(7):e0235870.
    PMID: 32639978 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235870
    Factors contributing to foodborne illnesses in Malaysia were identified as insanitary food handling procedures and lack of hygiene in food preparation area. Food safety at home is a critical point as consumers represent the final step in food preparation and prevention of foodborne diseases. This study aims to investigate the food safety knowledge, attitude and self-reported practices among consumers in Malaysia. An online survey was conducted, and data were analysed using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. A model linking food safety knowledge and attitude and their direct effects on practices were confirmed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The proposed model fulfilled the goodness of fit indices and is deemed acceptable. Respondents demonstrate good level of food safety knowledge and positive attitudes and self-reported practices. Food safety knowledge has a negative and insignificant relationship with food safety practices (β1 = -0.284, p>0.05) while attitude significantly affects food safety practices (β1 = 0.534, p<0.05). The findings clearly indicate that food safety knowledge does not directly affect food safety practices This is also the first study to provide new empirical findings on thermometer usage among consumers in Malaysia. This study establishes an important point of reference where consumers use visual appearances to determine if food is thoroughly cooked and practice washing raw chicken prior to cooking. Food safety practices at home play a critical role in protecting consumers in reducing risks of foodborne illnesses.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
  20. Fulltext Short communication antibacterial property of Hylocereus polyrhizus and Hylocereus undatus peel extracts
    Nurmahani, M.M., Azizah, A.H., Azizah, O., Ghazali, F.M., Mohd Sabri, P.D.
    International Food Research Journal, 2012;19(1):77-84.
    MyJurnal
    Food-borne diseases have always been a major concern to the consumers, food safety authorities and food industries. Hylocereus spp or Pitaya peels are normally treated as wastes and will be discarded during processing. In this study, the antibacterial activity of ethanol, chloroform and hexane extracts from Hylocereus polyrhizus (red flesh pitaya) and Hylocereus undatus (white flesh pitaya) peels against nine pathogens was evaluated using disc diffusion method and broth micro-dilution method. Result from disc diffusion method showed that chloroform extracts from H. polyrhizus and H. undatus peel were found to exhibit good antibacterial activity where almost all the pathogens studied were successfully inhibited. Result of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) showed that all extracts inhibit the growth of bacteria in the range of 1.25-10.00 mg/mL for all bacteria while their minimum bacteriacidal concentrations (MBC) indicated double of the MICs concentration except for B. cereus, L. monocytogenes and C. jejuni. Even though there is no clear trend indicating which bacteria were sensitive most to the extract, it can be concluded that chloroform extract of both H. polyrhizusand H. undatus peel showed the most potent antibacterial activity. Thus, these findings could be used further to understand the antibacterial property of the peel of pitaya fruits.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Safety
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