Food Safety Training and Foodservice Employees' Knowledge and Behavior

Statistics show that 59% of foodborne illnesses are traced to restaurant operations. Food safety training has been identified as a way to assure public health, yet evidence supporting the effectiveness of training has been inconclusive. A systematic random sample of 31 restaurants in three midwestern states was selected to assess the effect of training on food safety knowledge and behavior. A total of 402 employees (242 pre-training and 160 post-training) participated in this study. Pre- and post-training assessments were conducted on knowledge and behavior related to three key food safety practices: cross contamination, poor personal hygiene, and time/temperature abuse. Overall knowledge (P ≤ .05) and compliance with standards of behavior (P ≤ .001) improved significantly between pre- and post-training. When each practice was examined independently, only handwashing knowledge (P ≤ .001) and behavior (P ≤ .001) significantly improved. Results indicated that training can improve knowledge and behaviors, but knowledge alone does not always improve behaviors.