Baseline Knowledge Survey of Restaurant Food Handlers in Suburban Chicago Do Restaurant Food Handlers Know What They Need to Know to Keep Consumers Safe?

In the U.S., foodborne disease causes millions of illnesses annually, resulting in thousands of deaths. To reduce food poisoning, restaurant food handlers need accurate knowledge of food safety principles as a starting point for the outcome of optimal food safety behavior. The study described in thi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of environmental health Vol. 76; no. 1; pp. 18 - 27
Main Authors Manes, Mindi R., Liu, Li C., Dworkin, Mark S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Denver, CO National Environmental Health Association 01.07.2013
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
Biological and medical sciences
Chicago
Consumer Product Safety - standards
Cooking
Cross-Sectional Studies
Data Collection
Disease control
Environment. Living conditions
Female
Food
Food contamination
Food Contamination - prevention & control
Food handling
Food Handling - methods
Food history
Food poisoning
Food preparation
Food safety
Food Safety - methods
Foodborne diseases
Foodborne Diseases - prevention & control
Foodborne illnesses
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Male
Meats
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Poisoning
Public health
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Regression Analysis
Restaurants
Risk Factors
Safety and security measures
Studies
Surveys
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
United States
North America
Illinois
America
Chicago
United States > US
Chicago Illinois
USA, Illinois, Chicago
USA
Restaurant
Need
Survey
Urban environment
Consumer
Surveillance
Suburban zone
Knowledge
Food
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In the U.S., foodborne disease causes millions of illnesses annually, resulting in thousands of deaths. To reduce food poisoning, restaurant food handlers need accurate knowledge of food safety principles as a starting point for the outcome of optimal food safety behavior. The study described in this article determined food safety knowledge gaps among suburban Chicago restaurant food handlers. A cross-sectional survey of 729 food handlers at 211 suburban Chicago restaurants was conducted from June 2009 through February 2010. A 50-question survey was administered by a trained interviewer in either English or Spanish. Mixed-effects regression analysis identified risk factors associated with an overall food safety knowledge score. The mean overall knowledge score was only 72% and substantial knowledge gaps related to cross contamination, cooking, and holding and storage of food were identified. Spanish-speaking food handlers scored significantly lower than English-speaking food handlers (p< .05). Although certified food managers scored significantly higher than noncertified food handlers, their score was only 79%. These data provide targets for educational interventions to remedy knowledge gaps in food handlers in order to prevent food poisoning from restaurants.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0022-0892