Self-reported Changes in Food Safety Practices as a Result of Participation in a Statewide Food Safety Certification Program

摘要

In July 2004,a Pennsylvanian regulation will require any establishment that prepares or serves potentially hazardous foods and possesses a food license to have one member of its supervisory staff attend and pass an approved food safety course. In an effort to assist with the training for this regulation, the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) has developed a Statewide Food Safety Certification Program (SFSCP) that utilizes the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe~(R) curriculum. To measure self-reported behavior changes as a result of attending the SFSCP, a survey was sent to 1,448 students who had completed the SFSCP between January 2001 and May 2001. The response rate was 42%, with the majority of respondents being managers or chefscooks.For the statements: "Likelihood of Practicing Food Safety Techniques Before and After Attending Training" and "Likelihood of Using aThermometer to Check Food Temperature Before and After Penn State University Food Safety Certification Training," survey participants used the following responses: "very likely," "moderately likely," "slightly likely," and "not very likely." For statements addressing food safety behavior before training, survey respondents answered: "practiced," or "did not practice." For statements addressing food safety behavior changes as the result of training, survey respondents answered:"no change," "started practicing," or "practicing more often." Results from the survey indicated that although the majority (86%) of respondents wereonly "moderately likely" to practice food safety techniques before training, 93% of respondents reported they were "very likely" to practice food safety after training. For participants who reported not participating in various food safety practices before training, the top five areas of self-reported behavior change as a result of the training included calibrating thermometers (81 %), cleaning and sanitizing between tasks (79%), ensuring proper handwashing (78%), checking foods with calibrated thermometers (70%), and reheating foods to 165°F (70%). For those who reported practicing various food safety procedures before the training, the top 5 areas in which respondents reported practicing procedures more frequently after training included proper handwashing (26%), cleaning and sanitizing between tasks (26%), testing and monitoring the sanitizer concentration of the third compartment sink (24%), using gloves with ready-to-eat foods (23%), and monitoring the temperature of the third compartment sink(23%). The most popular items purchased by participants as a result of attending the training were thermometers, disposable gloves, plastic cutting boards, and sanitizer test strips. This study identifies the areas in which employees of the food serviceand retail industries are likely to make the necessary changes that have the potential to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.