Crisis Management Preparedness to Protect Food Products in a Foodservice Operation

Abstract

This study examined the foodservice managers’ perceived level of importance and performance relative to preparedness, implementation, response, recovery, organizational effectiveness, and organizational development related to resolving a food safety, food-borne illness, or food biosecurity crisis. Factor analysis identified three underlying dimensions: (a) sanitation regulations and protocol, (b) foodservice production and sanitary practices, and (c) knowledge of food pathogens. The importance-performance analysis revealed that conformance to sanitary standards was needed to maintain the best practices to guard against food-borne illness and food security criticalities. The results emphasized the importance of designing a workable preparedness sanitation management plan that would uphold high operational standards that would facilitate in preserving the quality of food and to protect the consumer from experiencing a food-borne illness criticality. The multiple regression results indicated that in sanitation management factors had a positive effect on organizational development and organizational efficiency in facilitating a crisis management plan.