PREVENTING INTENTIONAL FOOD CONTAMINATION IN THE RETAIL FOOD SETTING: HOW DO MANAGERS PERCEIVE THE RISK AND WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO PREVENT IT. Open Access

Helmuth, Gary Dale (2011)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/v692t6324?locale=en
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Abstract

PREVENTING INTENTIONAL FOOD CONTAMINATION IN THE RETAIL FOOD
SETTING: HOW DO MANAGERS PERCEIVE THE RISK AND WHAT ARE THEY
DOING TO PREVENT IT

By Gary Dale Helmuth

The safety of the food supply in recent years has been brought back as an
important issue for the public due to a number of high profile foodborne illness outbreaks
and recalls. The vast majority of these problems have been caused by the unintentional
contamination of food but in this era of terrorism risk there is concern about the growing
possibility of intentional contamination. FDA has developed a number of initiatives to
increase the recognition of the food industry about the potential of intentional food
contamination and resources to help them make their facilities safer. It is unclear,
however, how effective this outreach has been and there have been very few studies to
evaluate the perception of the food industry about intentional food contamination or its
prevention. This project sought to determine the beliefs and actions of retail food service
managers regarding the possibility and prevention of intentional food contamination
through the use of an online survey. Food service managers were also asked about their
knowledge and use of the resources provided by FDA.
The results indicate that managers recognize that intentional contamination of
food is a threat but they feel that their facilities are less at risk than the country as a
whole. They have taken steps to prevent intentional food contamination but are not aware
of the resources available through FDA and so have not used them. However, many
facilities are providing other training and are open to additional training opportunities
through the health department. The findings of this project are encouraging for the
acceptance of education efforts of health department's and can help to increase the
effectiveness of future training activities in the prevention of the intentional
contamination of food in retail food service.


Table of Contents

Table of Contents
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT ............................................................................................................... 1
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. 4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... 6
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................. 7
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................................................ 9
LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................................... 11
INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE

........................................................................................................... 11
PROBLEM STATEMENT ........................................................................................................................... 14
PURPOSE STATEMENT............................................................................................................................. 14
PROJECT QUESTIONS.............................................................................................................................. 15
SUMMARY................................................................................................................................................ 16
DEFINITION OF TERMS ........................................................................................................................... 17
CHAPTER II .............................................................................................................................................. 19
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .......................................................................................................... 19
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 19
Are Foodservice Operators Prepared for Terrorism?....................................................................... 19
Restaurant industry preparedness against intentional food contamination: results of a South
Carolina survey .................................................................................................................................. 21
Food defense preparedness in small and very small meat and poultry establishments ................... 22
Food security practice in Kansas schools and health care facilities ................................................ 23
SUMMARY................................................................................................................................................ 25
CHAPTER III............................................................................................................................................. 27
METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................... 27
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 27
POPULATION AND SAMPLE ..................................................................................................................... 27
PROJECT DESIGN .................................................................................................................................... 27
PROCEDURES........................................................................................................................................... 28
INSTRUMENT ........................................................................................................................................... 29
PLANS FOR DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................... 29
LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS ....................................................................................................... 31
SUMMARY................................................................................................................................................ 31
CHAPTER IV ............................................................................................................................................. 32
RESULTS.................................................................................................................................................... 32
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 32
SURVEY RESPONDENTS........................................................................................................................... 32
DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................................... 32
Perceptions ......................................................................................................................................... 32
Performance....................................................................................................................................... 33
Educational Resources ...................................................................................................................... 35
INFERENTIAL STATISTICS....................................................................................................................... 38
Perceptions ......................................................................................................................................... 39
Performance....................................................................................................................................... 40
Health Department............................................................................................................................. 40
Manager and Facility Attributes ....................................................................................................... 40

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SUMMARY

................................................................................................................................................ 41
CHAPTER V............................................................................................................................................... 42
CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................... 42
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 42
SUMMARY OF STUDY .............................................................................................................................. 42
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 43
IMPLICATIONS......................................................................................................................................... 45
RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................................................. 46
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 47
APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................................. 48
APPENDIX B.............................................................................................................................................. 53
APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................................................. 54
APPENDIX D ............................................................................................................................................. 55
APPENDIX E.............................................................................................................................................. 56


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List of Tables
Table 1. .............................................................................................................................30
Table 2. .............................................................................................................................39
Table 3. .............................................................................................................................40
Table 4. .............................................................................................................................41
Table 5. .............................................................................................................................41

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List of Figures
Figure 1. ............................................................................................................................33
Figure 2. ............................................................................................................................34
Figure 3. ............................................................................................................................34
Figure 4. ............................................................................................................................35
Figure 5. ............................................................................................................................36
Figure 6. ............................................................................................................................36
Figure 7. ............................................................................................................................37
Figure 8. ............................................................................................................................37
Figure 9. ............................................................................................................................38

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