Food safety education: a strategy to reduce foodborne diseases

Abstract

Foodborne diseases (FBD) represent a global public health problem, with significant health and economic impacts. In Latin America, the lack of food safety education and poor hygienic practices aggravate this problem. In Ecuador, 15% of gastrointestinal diseases are associated with the consumption of contaminated food, according to INEC (2019). At the Instituto Superior Tecnológico Juan Bautista Aguirre (ITSJBA), the absence of formal educational programs on food hygiene has increased the risk of ATE outbreaks among students. This mixed-approach study identified poor food hygiene practices among ITSJBA students, such as inadequate thawing (78.73% submerge food in water) and lack of separation of raw and cooked food (25.71%). In addition, 46.35% reported symptoms of FBD in the last six months, mainly linked to consumption in the institutional cafeteria. To address these deficiencies, an educational manual on hygienic food handling was designed and socialized, disseminated through institutional social networks. The results highlight the need to strengthen food safety education, especially in safe thawing, storage and hand washing methods. The implementation of this manual contributes to reducing the risk of FBD and promotes a culture of food safety, aligning it with the Objectives of the project.