Food hygiene in residential homes for the elderly.

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of food hygiene courses in the overall strategy to improve food safety in Malta and to identify the barriers to the In Malta, the number of elderly people over 65 years of age is increasing and so is the This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of food hygiene courses in the overall strategy to improve food safety in Malta and to identify the barriers to the In Malta, the number of elderly people over 65 years of age is increasing and so is the need for residential homes for the elderly. Management running these homes must make sure that food safety is being maintained by creating and maintaining food safety standards. The dissertation focused on the level of food hygiene in residential homes for the elderly and investigated the role of managers in food hygiene management. The study also aimed to investigate the level of food hygiene practiced in residential homes for the elderly, and if any significant differences are present in food hygiene management between private, government and church homes. All the registered thirty four homes were contacted for an appointment with a manager responsible for food hygiene. About a third of the homes were chosen randomly -and inspected in order to verify if food hygiene is actually being practiced in residential homes. From an analysis of results it is clear that training of managers and food handlers in food hygiene must improve in order for the level of food hygiene to improve .. Not enough refresher training is undertaken. This training must be undergoing in order to observe significant improvement in the basic food and personal hygiene knowledge and the effective implementation of HACCP- (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point). Establishing the level of awareness of HACCP system was also an objective of the study and HACCP was found to be implemented in only a few residential homes for the elderly. Significant differences between Government, Private and Church homes were present in the corrective action taken: when: a critical control point is not under control. Management's basic knowledge of food hygiene practices turned out to be overall satisfactory although some of the managers proved to have a poor knowledge. This is a serious concern considering that elderly are highly vulnerable people. Another objective of the study was to establish if managers running residential homes take appropriate steps to inform, train, keep up to date and supervise food handlers. Significant differences between the three types of homes were obtained regarding testing of food handlers' knowledge during supervision. The level of food hygiene in residential homes was evaluated through the result of inspections carried out by Environmental Health Officers during their routine inspections and from epidemiological data. Though overall satisfactory the level of hygiene must improve in a significant number of homes. A number of recommendations with the aim of improving food safety in homes for the elderly were made addressed to regulatory bodies such as the Government; to issue guidelines on training, HACCP and grading of risk assessments by Environmental Health Officers (EHO); to implement policies and documented systems in the homes; to offer regular training at a non-profit basis; and to provide funds to management in order to promote food safety. Suggestions on how to increase the effectiveness of the Environmental Health Officers in promoting food safety were also made such as to enforce and verify the effectiveness of training of all food handlers and management, to avail themselves of training on how to educate managers and to issue contraventions or written agreement between the responsible person managing and the EHO to the homes that fall between grade D and F. Residential home managers were also encouraged to provide incentives to food handlers, to implement HACCP system and to provide training.