Purpose: This study aims to assess observed food safety behaviors of consumers and employees in MSR that may contribute to the risk of foodborne illnesses.
Methods: One hundred one consumers (41% female; 65% Caucasian, 17% Asian, 6% African American, 2% other; 71% with co-eaters, 29% alone) and 34 employees (71% female; 56% Caucasian, 24% Asian, 18% African American, 3% other; 59% food preparation/cooking, 35% serving, 6% cashier) were observed at three market-style restaurants in a Midwestern university using Smartphone technology. For each observed individual, 30 transactions were recorded in a sequence of observed action, the object of the action, and observed hand sanitization practice. Fifteen percent of observations were conducted together by the observers to verify the inter-rater reliability, showing 77% of agreement.
Results: From a total of 3,030 consumer transactions, 73% (n = 2,222) were identified as behaviors that required hand sanitization practices but only 71 transactions (3%) were followed by cleaning hands with napkins. Particularly, the behaviors requiring hand sanitization were more commonly observed when consumers were eating with other people (22.5 ± 3.7 transactions) than when they ate alone (20.9 ± 4.0; t(49) = -1.8, P < 0.1). Male consumers were more often engaging in sanitization practices (4.7 ± 9.0%) than females (1.7 ± 3.9%; t(86) = -2.3, P < 0.05). Among 1,020 observed transactions of employees, 50% (n = 513) were identified as behaviors requiring hand sanitization practices, while only 4 transactions (1%) were followed by changing gloves.
Significance: The findings reveal poor food safety practices of consumers and employees, raising the needs of developing effective risk communication strategies for MSR.