In 2014, a study was published in Foodborne Pathogens and Disease examining the factors that contribute to food safety knowledge through both a verbal interview and a short knowledge assessment. This study found that food safety certification requirements and training accessibility greatly improve the food safety knowledge of workers.
Factors of the interview and assessment included level of food safety certification, primary language, restaurant size, work experience, number of duties, and working in a chain restaurant. The study found that certified managers and workers had higher odds of passing the knowledge assessment than those who hadn’t been certified. Despite the high levels of certification, food safety knowledge is lacking. Only a little more than half of both managers (55%) and workers (52%) passed the knowledge assessment, though the data indicates that certification leads to food safety knowledge retention.
Notably, workers whose managers had passed the assessment were more likely to pass themselves. This finding shows that a manager’s food safety knowledge directly affects the food safety knowledge of the workers.
Language was also a major contributing factor in food safety knowledge. Managers and workers whose primary language was English had higher odds of passing the assessment. This supports the need for training that is available in more languages. Those who do not speak English or speak very little English have a hard time learning in an English-only work environment.
While the study shows that food safety certification improved a manager’s or worker’s odds of passing the assessment, it showed that certification isn’t the only concern when it comes to food safety. The more language options a worker has, the more likely they are to first, attend training, and second, to retain the information they learned.
—Rachelle Riffle
