A Systematic Review on Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) of Food Safety among School Children: A Global Perspective

Worldwide there are lack of studies demonstrating the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) about food safety and hygiene, among school children. Thus, this systematic review is an attempt to summarize the findings in previous literature about food safety knowledge, attitude, and practices among school children, in a specific time period, to get an overview of the topic. This review was performed according to PRISMA protocol. Three main international databases (Google Scholar, PubMed and Scopus) were used for the search of the articles, and only the journal articles published from 2010 to 2020 were considered. Of the 102 articles referred, only 10 original research studies were selected based on the criteria for inclusion and exclusion. Only 2 out of 10 studies pointedout significant correlations between the school children’s food safety knowledge, practices and attitudes. In addition, 1 out of 10 studies demonstrated significant associations between common demographics (academic performance of the children, the type of school, the area of residence, the habit of smoking and alcohol consumption and the educational background of the parents) and food safety knowledge among children. Furthermore, 8 out of 10 studies reported students to possess a poor or average knowledge of food safety while the rest of the studies showed students to possess good knowledge regarding food safety. Only 3 out of 10 studiesrevealed students to be engaged in safe food handling practices. It can be concluded that the assessment of food safety knowledge, attitude and practice as the most productive initiative to comprehend food safety-related insights among school children. Furthermore, this review highlights the fundamental requirement to improve children’s food safety knowledge and practices through proper education.