During the period January 1st to March
31st, 2001 (Phase I), 430 food handlers were
recruited: 215 from each of the two sub-districts,
Peringat and Ketereh. The food handlers
were contacted directly at their premises; a list
of food handlers was obtained from the registry
of Kota Bharu District Council. The purpose
of the study was explained and the informed
consent of each food handler was obtained. A
questionnaire was developed and pretested in
Bahasa Melayu; the validity and reliability of
the questionnaire were tested using preliminary
data. There were 2 sections in the questionnaire:
(i) sociodemography and (ii) knowledge,
attitude, and practice (KAP) of foodborne
disease and food handling. The sociodemographic
section included: age, race, sex,
marital status, educational level, food-handling