Meat handlers training in Portugal: A survey on knowledge and practice

Professional training for meat handlers is an European Community food law requirement in order to apply HACCP principles and achieve food safety goals. A self-administered questionnaire designed to assess “Knowledge” and “Practice” of public hygiene measures was completed by meat handlers (MH) (n = 159) in slaughterhouses in Portugal. A significant proportion of the group (72.7%) has had professional training in two different areas: Good Practice in Food Industry (12.03%) and Work Safety and Hygiene (22.8%); 37.9% of the respondents have had training in both areas. However 24.5% of the subjects have never had training. Meat handlers with professional training in Good Practice in Food Industry (GPFI) and in both areas (BT) have had the highest proportions of correct answers in Knowledge (66.92 ± 16.36 and 67.26 ± 21.05, respectively) and Practice questions (70.53 ± 17.47 and 68.67 ± 22.58, respectively).The results of this study point to the need to improve training, particularly in Good Practice in Food Industry, thus enabling meat handlers to achieve more correct answers in Knowledge and Practice. The development of evaluation criteria for the effectiveness of professional training is crucial to protect Public Health.