Effect of educational program on knowledge, attitude and practice towards the quality standards of peanut oils among the supervisors of peanut oil milling factories

Background: Awareness of food safety is found to be linked with associated health risks. Edible oil is important in human daily diets but will affect negatively if not suitable for consumption. Vegetable oils may rancid and lose the nutrition components which are important for body mechanism. The rancidity depends on the improper oil extraction method, handling and storage. Peanut oil is the most preferred oils in Myanmar. Many studies revealed that the developed countries have greater awareness and strict regulation than developing countries. There were also limited research about the quality of edible oils and public health concerns in developing countries. Method: The interventional study to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational program on the supervisors from 80 peanut oil milling factories at Yangon, Mandalay, Magway and Bago Regions during 2024. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and practices of the supervisors of the peanut oil milling factories by using the pre-structured self-administered questionnaires at before the intervention, one month and six months after the intervention. Result: The knowledge, attitude and practice scores were found the significant differences (p value <0.001) by ANOVA and post-hoc test (Bonferroni) revealed the significant differences between baseline, intermediate and end-line. Conclusion: This study pointed out that the educational program was effective and it was essential to all oil milling factories for both quality and safety of the peanut oils. And also, refresher training needs to conduct repeatedly to maintain the knowledge, attitude and practice levels of the food business operators.