Organizational factors and safe food handling by food service workers: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to explore and map the scientific evidence on organizational factors related to safe food handling by food service workers to prevent foodborne disease. INTRODUCTION: According to the World Health Organization, more than 600 million people become ill each year due to foodborne diseases. Improper food handling is one of the main causes of such diseases. Despite the growing literature on safe food handling, many studies focus on assessing and discussing cognitive variables, such as food safety knowledge. This indicates a need to study this topic from a new perspective, for example, through its organizational factors. INCLUSION CRITERIA: The review will include quantitative and qualitative studies on food handlers (ie, individuals who have direct or indirect contact with food during their professional duties) working in food services (ie, institutional or commercial establishments). Food handlers involved in industrial processing, planting, harvesting, or working on the street (street food) or in the home will be excluded. Eligible studies will explore the organizational factors of safe food handling that influence employee behavior regarding food production. METHODS: This review will use the JBI methodology for scoping reviews to identify published and unpublished studies in all languages, with no date limit. The following databases will be searched: Scopus, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Food Science and Technology Abstracts. A structured search for gray literature will also be conducted. Titles, abstracts, and full texts of articles will be screened by 2 independent reviewers for inclusion, with discrepancies resolved by a third reviewer. Data will be extracted using a standardized form. The results will be summarized in tabular or graphical format, accompanied by a narrative summary. KEY DETAILS OF THIS REVIEW PROJECT ARE AVAILABLE IN OPEN SCIENCE FRAMEWORK: https://osf.io/hxfe4.

Job Crafting and Burnout as Predictors of Food Safety Behaviors in the Foodservice Industry.

This study aimed to investigate whether job crafting, burnout, and work engagement predict food safety behaviors in the foodservice industry. It was a cross-sectional study conducted in Cuiabá (Brazil) among foodservice workers. Four instruments were used among foodservice workers for the examination: (a) job demands and resources, (b) job satisfaction, (c) burnout, and (d) work engagement. Food safety practices were measured using a validated risk-based checklist. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis model. In this study, 22 restaurants and 302 foodservice workers were examined. It was found that the "job demands-resources" model was valid for foodservice workers, i.e., burnout was strongly predicted by job demands (ß = 0.550; p < 0.001); job resources were a positive predictor of work engagement (ß = 0.258; p < 0.001); and burnout was a negative predictor of work engagement (ß = −0.411; p < 0.001). Food safety violations were predicted by job crafting (ß = −0.125; p = 0.029) and burnout (ß = 0.143; p = 0.016). The results indicate that mitigating burnout and increasing job crafting can be important supporting strategies to improve food safety behaviors.

[Correlation between agricultural production, clinical and demographic variables and prostate cancer: an ecological study]. / Correlação entre produção agrícola, variáveis clínicas-demográfcas e câncer de próstata: um estudo ecológico.

Risk factors involved in the etiology of prostate cancer are not well known. The objective of this study was to explore correlations among variables relating to agricultural production, the use of health services, food consumption and socio-demographic characteristics and prostate cancer mortality rates in Brazilian states. Univariate analysis of spatial data for investigation of global spatial autocorrelation in prostate cancer mortality rates in Brazilian states between 2005 and 2009 was conducted. Using bivariate analysis, the correlation between socio-demographic indicators, agricultural production data, variables related to the use of health services dietary intake variables and prostate cancer mortality rates were examined. The production of soybeans and corn were positively correlated with prostate cancer mortality. In multiple linear spatial regression, the variables that showed an association with mortality rates from prostate cancer were tons of soybeans produced (p = 0.030), proportion of the population aged 80 and over (p < 0.001) and consumption of beverages (p < 0.001). A positive correlation between tons of soybeans planted and mortality from prostate cancer was identifed, suggesting the possible existence of an association between exposure to pesticides and prostate cancer.

[Surveillance on pesticides: quantification of use and prediction of impact on health, work and the environment for Brazilian municipalities]. / Vigilância aos agrotóxicos: quantificação do uso e previsão de impactos na saúde-trabalho-ambiente para os municípios brasileiros.

This paper analyzes the quantity, type and toxicity of pesticides used per hectare in the State of Mato Grosso as a surveillance strategy for the health of workers, the population in general and the environment, and to serve as a surveillance indicator for Brazilian cities. Brazil cultivated 95 million hectares in 2012, and Mato Grosso was the major consumer of pesticides. In this research, the database of the Agriculture and Livestock Defense Institute was consulted, as it records the prescribed agronomic data and place of use in sales invoices. The results reveal the average consumption of pesticides per hectare per crop: 12 liters for soy; 6 liters for corn; 4.8 liters for sugarcane; and 24 liters for cotton. The toxicological types and classes of pesticides used per hectare per crop were also monitored. Using a matrix of agricultural production and pesticide consumption, it was also found that certain health problems are correlated with the major producing regions. Based on pesticide consumption, agricultural production and pesticide toxicity it is possible to ascertain health problems in Brazilian cities and establish prevention and surveillance strategies for the workers, the environment and the populations exposed to pesticides.

[Factors associated with alterations in lung function among workers in the ceramics industry]. / Fatores associados às alterações da função pulmonar em trabalhadores de indústria de cerâmica.

This article seeks to assess lung function in workers of ceramic industries in the municipality of Várzea Grande - Mato Grosso. A cross-sectional study of 183 workers was conducted in the ceramics town of Várzea Grande (MT). A structured questionnaire was used to identify socio-demographic factors, environmental factors and smoking. and spirometry was performed to evaluatie the pulmonary function. Descriptive analysis and bivariate and multiple Poisson regression were performed. The workers are mostly male (94%) with a predominance of individuals aged 39 years (74.9%). The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was 44.9%, 14.8 patients with symptoms considered serious and 30.1% with non-serious symptoms. Associations were found of abnormal pulmonary function with the variables of exposure time and substance inhaled. Employees with four or more years of exposure had 1.99 times more lung function alterations than individuals with exposure time of up to 3 years; individuals who had inhaled dust and mold release had 2.97 times higher alteration in lung function. The change in lung function in workers assessed is related to longer exposure and inhalation of dust and mold release.

Trends of chronic health effects associated to pesticide use in fruit farming regions in the state of Ceará, Brazil.

The lower valley of Jaguaribe has registered, since the XXI century, the arrival of transnational and regional companies, which led to deep transformations in this region. The increased use of the pesticides is one of the most important ones, being able to cause alterations in human procreation and leading to congenital deformations, besides premature birth and low weight newborns. This article is an ecological study related to the period from 2000 to 2010 in the population of some cities in the state of Ceará, and it was divided in two parts: the first one, a draft of historical series of morbidity and mortality databases and trend verification performed by a simple linear regression; the second one comprehends the calculation of the ratio of rates between cities that are highly exposed to pestiides and the cities selected for comparison, with history of little use of these substances. There was statistically considerable growth tendency (p = 0.026) in the number of hospitalized people with neoplasms. Analyzing the ratios of the rates in these same indicators, it is observed that the rates of hospitalized people with neoplasms were 1.76 times higher in the studied cities than in control cities (p < 0.0010). With regard to to fetal deaths, a statistically considerable increase was observed (p < 0.05) as to the mortality rates in the studied cities. Results suggest there was higher morbidity and mortality caused by neoplasms in the cities with broader use of pesticides, which could be influenced by production, environmental and social transformations associated to the process of deterritorialization induced by the expansion of the agricultural modernization over the morbidity and mortality profile of the population of lower Jaguaribe. This process is a reflex of the production chemical-dependent model adopted by the agribusiness companies, expanding the vulnerability of the country side population.

[Environmental factors and hospitalization of under-five children with acute respiratory infection]. / Fatores ambientais e hospitalizações em crianças menores de cinco anos com infecção respiratória aguda.

Considering hospitalization as an indicator of seriousness of acute respiratory infection (ARI), this study focuses on the association between some environmental factors with the need for hospitalization of children with a diagnosis of ARI. The study analyzed all the medical records (at the Municipal Emergency Ward in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State) of children under five years of age (both sexes), collected by month of attendance. Two weather seasons were considered: dry (May-October) and rainy (November-April). Variables included: temperature, relative humidity, and number of fires (due to extensive slashing and burning for agriculture in the region). Prevalence of ARI was 49.8%, and hospitalization was required in 7.6% of cases, with a higher percentage during the dry season. The dry season and lower relative humidity were associated with increased pediatric hospitalization rate due to ARI.