abstract
This study was performed with the aim to investigate and compare the level of food safety knowledge
among food handlers in three different countries, Serbia, Greece and Portugal, in different food establishments,
namely restaurants, take-away places and catering companies. Total of 377 food handlers
were involved in this study with 115 food handlers from Serbia (30.5%), 180 food handlers from Greece
(47.7%) and 82 food handlers from Portugal (21.8%). 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 70.5%, with best overall KS that was obtained for Portuguese food handlers (72.6%),
followed by Serbian (71.3%), whereas Greek food handlers showed lower scores (69.1%, p < 0.05). The
biggest knowledge gaps that have been identified in relation to temperature control, source of
contamination of foods and food-stuffs and high-risk foods can be used as a foundation for further
improvements in food safety trainings.