3.1. Sample characteristics
Total of 377 food handlers were involved in this study. Among
them, 115 were food handlers from Serbia (30.5%), 180 food handlers
were from Greece (47.7%) and 82 food handlers were from
Portugal (21.8%). The number of male and female participants were
45.9 and 54.1%, respectively (Table 1). The majority of food handlers
(52.6%) involved in this study aged between 24 and 45 years,
whereas the similar share was found for other age groups (approx.
15%). The mean age of all participants was 36 years, with the
youngest participant being 18 years old and the oldest 71 years old.
The total of 57.5% of all participants had finished elementary and
high school, whereas 42.5% had either college or university degree,
those mainly working in Greek food establishments. Regarding
work experience in the food sector, 144 (38.2%) of all participants
had between 2 and 8 years of work experience, 97 (25.7%)