Perception of food safety knowledge and self-reported practices of street food handlers in San Dionisio: an enhance food safety and sanitation program of food handlers/

Canasio, R-Jay G.

Perception of food safety knowledge and self-reported practices of street food handlers in San Dionisio: an enhance food safety and sanitation program of food handlers/ R-Jay G. Canasio, Kharyll Rocel M. Santos, Roland Earl S. Santos, & Ma. Katrina D. Saplagio. -- Parañaque City: Olivarez College, 2025.

Undergraduate thesis

Street food vending,particularly through carinderias, is a vital part of the Philippine food industry, providing affordable meals to many but posing significant food safety challenges due to limited regulatory oversight and potential risk of foodborne illnesses in the community. This study investigates the food safety knowledge and self-reported practices of street food handlers in San Dionisio, Paranaque, framed by the health Belief Model (HBM) constructs: perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design and census sampling of all 69 registered carinderias, data were collected through a structured Likert-scale questionnaire adapted from Rustia et al. (2019). Descriptive statistics, normality tests, and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests were applied due to non-normal data distribution. Results showed a predominantly female (72.9%), Generation X (45.7%), high school-educated (51.4%) workforce in small-scale operation (61.4% with 1-3 employees). Food safety knowledge was high across HBM constructs (weighted means 3.62- 3.76), yet significant differences appeared in perceived severity by gender (p=0.049), self-efficacy by year of birth (p=0.023) and educational attainment (p=0.021), and self-reported practices by gender (p=0.049) and year of birth (p=0.021), with no differences by years of operation or number of employees. These findings highlight the need for tailored training programs to address demographic variations, strengthen self-efficacy, close any residual knowledge gaps, and promote consistent safe practices,ultimately reducing foodborne illness risks and enhancing public health in the local community.

food safety knowledge. self-reported practices. street food handlers. carinderias. health belief model. San Dionisio Paranaque. food sanitation program.

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