The level of food safety knowledge in food establishments in three European countries

• The level of food safety knowledge was evaluated among food handlers in Serbia, Portugal and Greece.
• Total of 377 food handlers participated, from three different countries, and in different food establishments.
• Food handlers showed the average food safety knowledge score of 73%.
• Knowledge scores were associated with food handlers' age, education, type of food establishments and number of employees.
• Knowledge gaps were related to the temperature regimes during storage and food microbiology knowledge.

This study was performed with the aim to investigate and compare the level of food safety knowledge among food handlers in three different countries, Serbia, Greece and Portugal, in different food establishments, namely restaurants, take-away places and catering companies. Total of 377 food handlers were involved in this study with 115 food handlers from Serbia (30.5%), 180 food handlers from Greece (47.7%) and 82 food handlers from Portugal (21.8%). For each participant, the knowledge score (KS) was calculated by dividing the sum of correct answers by the total number of questions. The average KS for all participants was 70.5%, with best overall KS that was obtained for Portuguese food handlers (72.6%), followed by Serbian (71.3%), whereas Greek food handlers showed lower scores (69.1%, p < 0.05). The biggest knowledge gaps that have been identified in relation to temperature control, source of contamination of foods and food-stuffs and high-risk foods can be used as a foundation for further improvements in food safety trainings.