Hand washing is an essential practice in the foodservice industry because hands are the primary pathway of transmitting pathogens, toxins, or chemicals to the prepared food. Despite that, prior studies highlighted that most food handlers in Malaysia do not apply proper hand washing practice. It is pivotal to address potential factors that are beyond the knowledge on food safety, to induce proper hand washing practice among food handlers and prevent the outbreak of foodborne diseases. To date, studies on multifaceted factors that influence food handlers’ hand washing practice remain scarce. Hence, this study surveyed a convenience sample of food handlers (n=88) to identify factors that affect their intention to perform proper hand washing practice. Samples were selected from public school canteens in Klang Valley area. A survey questionnaire was developed based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS 3.0 to test the hypothesized relationships among study constructs. The results of PLS-SEM found that attitude and perceived behavior control fail to predict intention and only subjective norm significantly influence the food handlers to perform proper hand washing practices. The findings were expected to assist the business owners and school administration in improving the food safety practices among food handlers at the school canteen. This study contributed essential information for future research on food safety practices to address the prevalent issue of foodborne diseases.
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In-Text Citation: (Ahmad, Abidin, Mahyudin, & Rashid, 2018)
To Cite this Article: Ahmad, I. A.-Z., Abidin, U. F. U. Z., Mahyudin, N. A., & Rashid, N. K. M. @ A. (2018). A Structural Analysis of Behavioral Determinants Affecting Food Handlers’ Proper Hand Washing Practices in School Canteen. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(17), 324–339.
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