LEVELS OF AWARENESS, UNDERSTANDING, AND ATTITUDES OF COOKED AND PREPARED FOOD STALL OWNERS ON FOOD SAFETY AND SANITATION PRACTICES IN CENTRO ORMOC FOOD PARK
Keywords:
food safety, sanitation practices, awareness, understanding, attitudes, food stall vendors, food parkAbstract
This descriptive-quantitative study assessed the levels of awareness, understanding, and attitudes of cooked and prepared food stall owners toward food safety and sanitation practices at the Centro Ormoc Food Park, Ormoc City, Philippines. A standardized six-part, 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire (60 items; 10 items per construct) covering awareness of food safety, understanding of food safety practices, attitudes toward food safety, sanitation and personal hygiene practices, regulatory awareness and compliance, and food handling and storage practices was administered to all 50 vendors who sold cooked and prepared food within the food park. Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, and weighted means. Vendors were predominantly young adults 18–24 years old (46.0%) and male (67.0%), selling rice meals (30%), cooked viands (28%), grilled items (24%), and ready-to-eat snacks (18%). All six constructs were rated in the Agree-to-Strongly-Agree range, with food handling and storage practices (M = 4.84) and regulatory compliance (M = 4.81) rated highest, and attitudes toward food safety (M = 4.19) rated lowest. The results indicate that vendors possess strong knowledge of, and largely comply with, food safety and sanitation requirements, but show comparatively less confidence and enthusiasm regarding the practices themselves. Continuous, low-cost, community-based training and monitoring are recommended to narrow this awareness–attitude gap and sustain safe food-handling behavior in community food-park settings.
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