Pest control in Serbian and Greek food establishments - Opinions and knowledge

Abstract

This study was performed with the aim to investigate and compare the level of pest control knowledge among food handlers in Serbia and Greece and to assess pest control practices in food establishments in the two countries. Total of 695 food handlers were involved in this study with 395 food handlers from Serbia and 300 food handlers from Greece. For each participant, the knowledge score (KS) was calculated by dividing the sum of correct answers by the total number of questions. The average KS for all participants was 63.6%, with better overall KS obtained for Serbian food handlers (65.3%). In total, 62 companies operating in the food chain were included in this research, 32 from Serbia and 30 from Greece. A cluster analysis was conducted in order to classify companies according to the relative level of agreement to various pest control statements. Overall results show that the highest level of agreement was that pest infestation is influenced by past history of pest activities indoors, that ingredients used in the company, neighboring properties and effectiveness of pest control program influence pest infestation. Cereal based food is most likely to be contaminated with pests. This study provides a valuable insight to various stakeholders in the food chain on how food handlers and companies perceive pest control.