Foodborne disease related to commercial eateries remains a major concern in food safety control programs worldwide. This study aimed to assess the impact of the FOODAlyzer© as a web-based food safety education system on the knowledge, attitude, and perception of selecting commercial eateries among students of non-health-related courses in higher educational institutions in Peninsular Malaysia. The interventional study design was used as follows: the intervention group (n = 59) was compared with the control group (n = 59) in the pre-test (before the intervention), post-test (immediately after the intervention), and follow-up post-test (two weeks later). Baseline data showed that both the intervention and control groups had no significant difference in knowledge score, attitude, and perception. The intervention group achieved a higher knowledge score (p = 0.022) and attitude score (p < 0.0001), indicating a significant impact of food safety education in the FOODAlyzer© compared with the control group. The test of within-subjects showed a significant increase in respondents’ scores on knowledge, attitude, and perception. By contrast, the test of between-subjects found that the intervention group achieved a higher knowledge score (p = 0.022) and attitude score (p < 0.0001), which indicates a significant impact of food safety education compared with the control group. The findings suggest that knowledge and attitude in selecting commercial eateries based on food safety criteria among the students remained lacking. This paper presents the impact of food safety education to empower consumers towards the selection of commercial eateries and thus reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

Food safety is an important indicator of public health, as foodborne illnesses continue to cause productivity and economic loss. In recent years, web-based applications have been extensively used by the online users’ population. Almost one third (28.3%) of online users found web-based application to be a notable source of food safety information. The objective of the current review is to determine the effectiveness of a web-based application systems as a health promotion tool for consumers to increase their knowledge and awareness of food safety. A systematic literature review was conducted by analyzing 11 selected web-based food safety education-related articles. The studies were categorized into several themes: (1) web-based applications used in accessing food safety information; (2) food safety evaluation and perception among consumers; (3) beliefs and level of knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of consumers; and (4) impact and contribution of social media use. A diverse number of online applications have been utilized to promote food safety education among consumers, yet these web-based applications need to be improved with regards to social connection and integration among consumers. KAP surveys were conducted on the majority of the respondents with a particular focus on their knowledge level. Findings show that web-based applications may act as an alternative to the traditional media in enhancing food safety education among consumers, especially youths who are tech-savvy.