{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T13:00:40Z","timestamp":1791378040313,"version":"4.3.2"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"PAGEPress Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791331200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Ital J Food Safety"],"abstract":"<jats:p>To date, no studies have examined the status of food safety knowledge and practices among representative fast-food restaurants and vendors in Abu Dhabi (Al Ain City). The primary objective of this study was to assess awareness of food safety practices and attitudes and to examine their effects on consumer health in representative fast-food restaurants. The research was conducted at 6 fast-food vendors across various locations in Al Ain City, Abu Dhabi. A desirable practice scored one, whereas an undesirable practice received no score, as determined by a standardized questionnaire applied to all food establishments. We used this scoring system to see how each operation's percentage score compared with the maximum possible score for that operation. To test for significant differences among the attributes analyzed across food outlets and suppliers, an analysis of variance was conducted (significance level: p&lt;0.05). The study demonstrated significant differences among various vendors regarding the production area (78-94%), production safety (61-100%), and physical facilities ranging between 38% and 88%. Product-related aspects range from 29% to 88%. Food handlers' and personal hygiene practices ranged from 47% to 83%. Finally, knowledge of food safety and equipment availability ranged from 50% to 78%. The total count did not exceed the standard values, and the TVC ranged from 2 to 4 log CFU\/mL. The coliform count exceeded the standard levels in some places. The study's findings indicate inadequate hygiene practices among food workers in food-preparation areas. In conclusion, further efforts are necessary to ensure safe food handling and production. This research will contribute to the development of educational programs to enhance food safety.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4081\/ijfs.2026.15643","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T12:07:16Z","timestamp":1791374836000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assessing microbial safety and food safety knowledge and practices among representative fast-food restaurants in the United Arab Emirates\u00a0during the COVID-19 pandemic"],"prefix":"10.4081","author":[{"given":"Mahmoud","family":"Abughoush","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Science of Nutrition and Dietetics Program, College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amin N","family":"Olaimat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Murad A","family":"Alholy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maher","family":"Al-Dabbas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan, Amman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hassan Mohamed","family":"Al Marzooqi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Research Section, Research and Development Division, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Abu Dhabi"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hanan Sobhy","family":"Afifi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Research Section, Research and Development Division, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Abu Dhabi"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohamed Gamal","family":"Shehata","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Research Section, Research and Development Division, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Food Technology Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, New Borg El-Arab City"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sam","family":"Al-Dalali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Food and Health, Guilin Tourism University, Guilin, China; Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, Ibb University, Ibb, Yemen"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Imranul","family":"Choudhury","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amal","family":"Aljanada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2549","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"254854","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ababneh KI, Ponnaiyan S, ElMelegy AR, Prybutok V, 2022. Determinants of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in fast-food restaurants among undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qual Manag J 29:104-24.","DOI":"10.1080\/10686967.2022.2034491"},{"key":"254855","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Abughoush M, Olaimat AN, Al-Holy MA, Al-Dabbas M, Alavi S, Maghaydah S, Choudhury I, Nour M, Abu-Ghoush L, 2023. Evaluation of food quality and safety parameters and food safety knowledge and practices of food handlers at fast foods restaurants at universities in Jordan during COVID-19. Heliyon 9:e18936.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2023.e18936"},{"key":"254856","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ahuja PK, 2017. Design and construction of eating establishments for ensuring food safety. In: Food safety in the 21st century. Academic Press, London, UK. pp. 355-69.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-801773-9.00028-5"},{"key":"254857","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Al Daour R, Osaili TM, Hashim M, Savvaidis IN, Salim NA, Al-Nabulsi AA, ElSayegh HB, Hubaishi N, Coussa A, Salame A, Mohamad MN, 2022. Food safety knowledge among pregnant women in the United Arab Emirates amid the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One 17:e0279810.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0279810"},{"key":"254858","unstructured":"Dubai Municipality, 2006. Food Safety Department. Available from: https:\/\/www.foodsafetydubai.com\/"},{"key":"254859","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ebrahim AA, 2020. Effect of food safety training on achieving good hygiene practices in restaurants in the Emirates of Dubai. J Agric Sci Technol 10:365-74.","DOI":"10.17265\/2161-6264\/2020.06.005"},{"key":"254860","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fung F, Wang HS, Menon S, 2018. Food safety in the 21st century. Biomed J 41:88-95.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bj.2018.03.003"},{"key":"254861","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gupta H, Sharma S, Sundararaj P, 2011. Assessment of microbiological quality of foodstuffs served in college cafeterias. Qual Assur Saf Crops Foods 3:148-67.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1757-837X.2011.00102.x"},{"key":"254862","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Guy GP, Massetti GM, Sauber-Schatz E, 2021. Mask mandates, on-premises dining, and COVID-19. JAMA 325:2199-200.","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2021.5455"},{"key":"254863","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hatabu A, Mao X, Zhou Y, Kawashita N, Wen Z, Ueda M, Takagi T, Tian YS, 2020. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19 among university students in Japan and associated factors: An online cross-sectional survey. PLoS One 15:e0244350.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0244350"},{"key":"254864","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Issa-Zacharia A, Lubanji RY, Matondo JD, 2025. Evaluation of food safety knowledge among food service workers and microbial contamination of food contact surfaces in university restaurants in Morogoro Tanzania. Int J Nutr Food Sci 14:59-73.","DOI":"10.11648\/j.ijnfs.20251401.17"},{"key":"254865","unstructured":"Kashyap S, Sharma S, Sundararaj P, Gupta S, 2004. Determinants of healthy eating in young girls attending college and promoting healthy lifestyles in them. WHO Biennium Project Report, Government of India."},{"key":"254866","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lacombe A, Quintela I, Liao YT, Wu VC, 2021. Food safety lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. J Food Saf 41:e12878.","DOI":"10.1111\/jfs.12878"},{"key":"254867","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Larisa M, Arkadiy K, Tatyana K, 2020. Food safety practices in catering during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Foods Raw Mater 8:197-203.","DOI":"10.21603\/2308-4057-2020-2-197-203"},{"key":"254868","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu P, Lee YM, 2018. An investigation of consumers' perception of food safety in the restaurants. Int J Hosp Manag 73:29-35.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhm.2018.01.018"},{"key":"254869","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Luo Y, Chen L, Xu F, Gao X, Han D, Na L, 2021. Investigation on knowledge, attitudes and practices about food safety and nutrition in China during the epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019. Public Health Nutr 24:267-74.","DOI":"10.1017\/S1368980020002797"},{"key":"254870","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mostafa H, Al Dhaheri AS, Feehan J, Yousif NM, 2024. Assessment of consumer demographics and food safety risks associated with ready-to-eat (RTE) homemade foods purchased online in the UAE. Heliyon 10:e24624.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2024.e24624"},{"key":"254871","unstructured":"NFI, 2003. National workshop on food safety. Nutrition Foundation of India."},{"key":"254872","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Olaimat AN, Al-Nabulsi AA, Nour MO, Osaili TM, Alkhalidy H, Al-Holy M, Ayyash M, Holley RA, 2022. The effect of the knowledge, attitude, and behavior of workers regarding COVID-19 precautionary measures on food safety at foodservice establishments in Jordan. Sustainability 14:8193.","DOI":"10.3390\/su14138193"},{"key":"254873","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Omar S, 2020. Hygienic food practice among food workers in Jordanian food factories during pandemic crisis: COVID-19: comparative study. Available from: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.21203\/rs.3.rs-29784\/v1","DOI":"10.21203\/rs.3.rs-29784\/v1"},{"key":"254874","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Osaili T, Obaid RS, Taha S, Kayyaal S, Ali R, Osama M, Alajmi R, Al-Nabulsi AA, Olaimat A, Hasan F, Ayyash M, 2022. A cross-sectional study on food safety knowledge amongst domestic workers in the UAE. Br Food J 124:1009-21.","DOI":"10.1108\/BFJ-12-2020-1124"},{"key":"254875","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Park A, Lee SJ, 2009. Fault tree analysis on handwashing for hygiene management. Food Control 20:223-9.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2008.05.001"},{"key":"254876","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ranaei V, Pilevar Z, Hosseini H, 2020. Food safety practices in COVID-19 pandemic. J Food Qual Hazards Control 7:116-8.","DOI":"10.18502\/jfqhc.7.3.4142"},{"key":"254877","unstructured":"Rf ND, 1992. Food safety in public catering in developing countries. In: Food safety in public catering. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, pp. 1-7."},{"key":"254878","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rizou M, Galanakis IM, Aldawoud TM, Galanakis CM, 2020. Safety of foods, food supply chain and environment within the COVID-19 pandemic. Trends Food Sci Technol 102:293-9.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tifs.2020.06.008"},{"key":"254879","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Santana NG, Almeida RC, Ferreira JS, Almeida PF, 2009. Microbiological quality and safety of meals served to children and adoption of good manufacturing practices in public school catering in Brazil. Food Control 20:255-61.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2008.05.004"},{"key":"254880","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shi MI, Xiang C, Zhang XH, 2020. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers' food safety knowledge and behavior in China. J Integr Agric 19:2926-36.","DOI":"10.1016\/S2095-3119(20)63388-3"},{"key":"254881","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Taha S, Osaili TM, Saddal NK, Al-Nabulsi AA, Ayyash MM, Obaid RS, 2020. Food safety knowledge among food handlers in food service establishments in United Arab Emirates. Food Control 110:106968.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2019.106968"},{"key":"254882","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Todd EC, 2017. Foodborne disease in the Middle East. Water, Energy & Food Sustainability in the Middle East: 389-440.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-48920-9_17"},{"key":"254883","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Udgiri RS, Masali KA, 2007. A study on the health status of food handlers employed in food establishments in Bijapur city. Indian J Community Med 32:131-2.","DOI":"10.4103\/0970-0218.35652"},{"key":"254884","unstructured":"WHO, 2015a. Estimating the burden of foodborne diseases. Available from: https:\/\/www.who.int\/activities\/estimating-the-burden-of-foodborne-diseases"},{"key":"254885","unstructured":"WHO, 2015b. Food safety: what you should know. Available from: https:\/\/apps.who.int\/iris\/handle\/10665\/160165"}],"container-title":["Italian Journal of Food Safety"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.pagepressjournals.org\/ijfs\/article\/download\/15643\/14553","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.pagepressjournals.org\/ijfs\/article\/download\/15643\/14554","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.pagepressjournals.org\/ijfs\/article\/download\/15643\/14553","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T12:07:23Z","timestamp":1791374843000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.pagepressjournals.org\/ijfs\/article\/view\/15643"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]]},"references-count":32,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4081\/ijfs.2026.15643","relation":{},"ISSN":["2239-7132"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2239-7132","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]]}}}