Foodborne illnesses result from inadequate food handling practices, but prevention is possible through implementing food safety principles by handlers and consumers. This paper presents an overview of food safety knowledge and practices among food handlers and consumers in the Gulf countries, identifies factors affecting knowledge and practice, and offers recommendations for promoting food safety among handlers and consumers. A literature search was conducted using an integrative review method. Various combinations of the following descriptors were used: (food safety, food hygiene), (knowledge, practice), and (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait). Out of 164 studies screened, 37 met the eligibility criteria. Food handler studies reported insufficient food safety knowledge, with poor translation of existing knowledge into practice. Consumer studies showed varying levels of food safety knowledge, and the translation of existing knowledge into practice was also found to be inconsistent. Training and educational level were the primary factors positively affecting food safety knowledge and practices. Overall, significant gaps in knowledge and practices were identified among food handlers and consumers in the Gulf. These gaps require urgent attention from the Gulf regulatory bodies to develop targeted food safety training and education programs to enhance awareness and implementation of food safety principles.

Food-related diseases are a topic of concern for the population and institutions; therefore, regulations have been envisaged to improve consumer knowledge about food properties and to guide them towards healthy food consumption. Europe has addressed the use of claims on labels with two important regulations in 2006 and 2012. The use of claims allows for the differentiation of food products, particularly functional foods, i.e., those that can provide health benefits as part of a standard diet. The study aims to describe the interest of researchers on the topic of functional foods and health claims by observing the trend of publications and highlighting the role of the country on the topic through a network analysis. Another objective is to evaluate the role of lifestyle, psychological and socio-demographic predictors in the choice of functional foods bearing label claims or not, using a systematic literature review. To this aims, a bibliometric and a network analysis were assessed. The results reveal a positive trend in publications and a growing interest in the topic, thus showing that socio-demographic characteristics and lifestyle variables partially influence consumer behaviour. In particular, it emerges that educated people and women are more interested in functional foods, showing a higher willingness to pay for them. In addition, physical activity and beliefs regarding the nutritional quality of functional foods are positively correlated with WTP. However, several contradictory results were observed for some variables in the collected studies. For these reasons and considering the high number of functional foods and claims yet to be evaluated, further investigations are recommended.