Medical Assessment and Management of Food Handling Workers: A Study at The Occupational Medicine Clinic, Pang Nga Province

Abstract

Background: Food handlers play a critical role in food safety and consumer health, as poor hygiene practices or underlying illnesses may lead to food contamination and transmission of infectious diseases through food. Therefore, fitness for work assessment among food handlers is essential for screening health conditions and risk factors that may affect food safety, in order to prevent foodborne diseases and ensure compliance with public health standards in food service operations.

Objectives: To determine the proportion of individuals who were medically fit for food handling work and to identify health conditions associated with unfitness or fit with restriction for food handling duties, using data obtained from the Occupational Medicine Clinic, Phang Nga Hospital.

Materials and Method: This retrospective descriptive study from secondary data; 738 food handlers who underwent health examinations at the Occupational Medicine Clinic, Phang Nga Hospital, during January 1 and June 30, 2025.

Results: Most participants were female 55.69%; with a median age of 31 years. History taking and physical examination revealed abnormalities in 2.57%, including hand lesions in 1.22%, diarrhea in 0.68%, and respiratory symptoms in 0.68%. Chest X-ray findings were normal in 98.78%. Rectal swab culture identified asymptomatic Salmonella spp. in 5.01%, while hepatitis A IgM antibody reactivity was detected in 0.14%. Assessment of work fitness showed that 92.28% were fit to work in food-handling duties. Meanwhile, 2.57% were work restriction, and 5.15% were temporarily work exclusion.

Conclusion: Fitness to work assessment among food handlers is essential for preventing the transmission of infectious diseases to consumers, including from asymptomatic carriers, and for ensuring compliance with public health standards. Although certain investigations, such as hepatitis A testing, may have limited cost-effectiveness due to the low prevalence of infection, the promotion of personal hygiene and symptom reporting remains crucial for the prevention of foodborne diseases.