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Dairy industry employee knowledge, attitudes and practices in response to COVID -19 policies in Jordan

Tareq Osaili (Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates) (Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan)
Anas A. Al-Nabulsi (Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan)
Balqees I.H. Albluwi (Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan)
Amin Olaimat (Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan)
Reyad Shaker Obaid (Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates)
Sadi Taha (Al Dar University College, Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
Mutamed Ayyash (Department of Food Science, College of Food and Agriculture, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)
Richard Holley (Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada)

British Food Journal

ISSN: 0007-070X

Article publication date: 22 August 2022

Issue publication date: 11 April 2023

171

Abstract

Purpose

This study examined the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Jordanian dairy employees about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) characteristics and the effect of precautionary measures on food safety risk during the pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study was conducted between Dec 17, 2020 and Feb 22, 2021, involving a total of 428 participants across 34 random chosen dairy facilities in Jordan. KAP related to COVID-19 were measured by 46 items, while 13 items were used to examine perceived notions regarding COVID-19 precautionary measures on food safety.

Findings

The results indicated that 32.2% of the respondents had sufficient knowledge, 60.3% had a good attitude, and 27.1% followed correct practices concerning COVID-19. Moreover, female respondents had higher total KAP scores of COVID-19 characteristics than males. Furthermore, older and more experienced respondents had higher total KAP scores than younger respondents. This study also observed that the total KAP scores were not affected by education, marital status, and job position. Characteristics and measures taken by the dairy industry were at large significantly associated with (p < 0.05) knowledge and practice of employees about COVID-19 attributes. Results of this study suggested that Jordanian dairy workers were not adequately aware about COVID-19.

Originality/value

No such study on dairy workers has been conducted previously to the best of the authors’ knowledge. Moreover, studies which analyse the association of industry response and characteristics on the KAP of employees are very limited.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the participants of the study for their cooperation.

Citation

Osaili, T., Al-Nabulsi, A.A., Albluwi, B.I.H., Olaimat, A., Shaker Obaid, R., Taha, S., Ayyash, M. and Holley, R. (2023), "Dairy industry employee knowledge, attitudes and practices in response to COVID -19 policies in Jordan", British Food Journal, Vol. 125 No. 5, pp. 1559-1578. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-02-2022-0132

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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