Iranian Journal of

Background and Objective: One of the most important factors affecting communities’ health is safe drinking water. The UN general assembly considers “ensure availability and sustainable water and sanitation for all “as one of the 17 goals of SDGs for the 2030 development agenda.  Target 6.1 of SDGs aims to provide universal and equitable access to affordable drinking water and to provide safe drinking water for all households. Target 6.2 calls for an end to defecation in an open environment to ensure that each person has access to the toilet and safe disposal system. In current study, 143 Savadkooh villages with defects in water supply systems and health services were selected to update the indicators and implement sustainable development goals.  
Materials and Methods: A checklist was designed to extract targets 6.1 and 6.2 based on the Joint Monitoring Program (JMP). Considering 7400 households, margin of error of 5%, confidence limit of 95%, and the most conservative mode for response distribution (50%), the sample size was determined (512 households). Samples were collected randomly from all villages and then analysis was performed by SPSS 19.
Results: In drinking water sector, 84% of people have access to safe services, while only 15% and 1% have access to basic services and unimproved services, respectively. In sanitation sector, 98.8% of people use safe services though only 0.2% utilize limited services. In hygiene sector, 98.8% of people are provided with safe services.
Conclusion: Lack of drinking water safety and failure to improve water resources’ quality are the main problems in the drinking water sector. Lack of access to sewage network, wastewater disposal in the land is the biggest health hazard in the region. This study can provide solutions to improve the health quality of affected community.

Background and Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the difference in knowledge, attitude, and performance in terms of food hygiene and safety between people with and without a history of Covid-19.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 712 people from August to September 2021 using a standard online questionnaire. The questionnaire had four sections, the first section includes demographic information, the second section includes seven questions related to participants' knowledge about food hygiene and safety, the third section includes ten questions about participants' attitudes, and the fourth section contains 10 questions related to participants' health performance. Multiple regression models were used to investigate the main predictors of knowledge, attitude, and performance. The significance level was considered as p < 0.05.
Results: There were 271 (43%) people with a history of infection and 361 (57%) without infection. Demographic factors were not significantly different between people with and without a history of infection. The results of the present study showed that knowledge (p=0.05) and people's performance (p=0.002)  about food hygiene and safety have a significant relationship with the history of corona infection. However, people's attitude was not affected by the corona infection (p=0.17). Attitude was the major predictor of performance (p <0.001).
Conclusion: It can be claimed that contracting Corona has increased people's knowledge and improved performance regarding food hygiene and safety during the Covid-19 pandemic and has improved health conditions.
 

Background and Objective: Compliance with the principles of food safety and hygiene is very important in the entire chain of production, storage, transportation and supply of food to ensure the safety and suitability of food to ensure the health of consumers. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine the status of indicators and prerequisite programs for health and food safety in the fruit and vegetable fields of Tehran in 2022.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive-analytical study on 67 fruit and vegetable centers in Tehran city regarding the status of indicators and prerequisite programs for food safety and hygiene, such as the condition of buildings and facilities, employee training, employee health, food quality control, control of environmental pests, waste disposal and work environment hygiene were done. First, a questionnaire was prepared and its validity was confirmed by the opinion of five experts, as well as its reliability tool with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.87, then the questionnaire was completed and the necessary data was recorded. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS software.
Results: The results showed that the favorable condition of buildings and facilities, employee education, employee health, food quality control, environmental pest control, waste disposal and workplace hygiene were 67.16%, 26.85%, 50.20%,67.91%, 43.65%, 58.39% and 63.11%, respectively. So the indicators of building and facilities, food quality control, food consumption and work environment with an average of more than a percentage are acceptable. However, the indicators of care education and combating environmental chastity have been evaluated as unfavorable
Conclusion: Knowing the status of indicators and prerequisite programs for food safety and hygiene in the fruit and vegetable fields of Tehran city can help to improve food safety and health. Also, the desirability of indicators of buildings and facilities, food quality control, waste disposal and workplace hygiene affect the supply and distribution of healthy food. It is also recommended to pay more attention to raising the level of education in the care and methods of environmental pest control in fruit and vegetable fields.
 

Background and Objective: Personal hygiene and adherence with health protocols in food preparation and distribution centers by operators are essential for controlling the transmission of infectious diseases. This study aimed to investigate the microbial contamination and compliance with health protocols among bakery workers in Mahmoudabad, Mazandaran, in 2020.
Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive study, 149 samples were collected from the hands of workers in bakeries in Mahmoudabad. The microbial load was determined using the System Sure Plus device. Additionally, standard checklists, which included questions related to compliance with health protocols in the workplace, were used.  The collected data was then analyzed using SPSS 26 software.
Results: Among the studied samples, 51.1%had a microbial load higher than 30 RLU (Relative Light Units), 28.86%  had a microbial load of 10-30 RLU and 20.13% had a microbial load less than 10 RLU. Based on the results of the checklists, the rates of adherence to hand disinfection protocol, observance of social distancing, use of liquid soap, and use of a mask were 43.6%, 61.7%, 59.7%, and 53.7%, respectively. Additionally, data analysis revealed a significant relationship between business gown usage and microbial contamination on personnel's hands (p = 0.031).
Conclusion: Based on the results, it was evident that the workers' hand hygienewas in a concerning condition, posing a potential threat to their overall well-being. Therefore, individual health education and food safety practices should be improved, and inspections by environmental health monitors should be considered to ensure stricter public health standards.