Efficacy of HACCP-Based Food Handling Training Program for Front-Line Foodservice Workers: A Report on a Collaborative Work Between Regulatory Agencies and Academia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article reports collaborative HACCP training project by academicians and regulatory officials in an anticipation of HACCP implementation in foodservice establishments in Illinois. The team developed an HACCP-based safe food-handling training kit featuring a 55-minute video and several job aids. This video was evaluated for effectiveness when it was used as part of a two-and-a-half-hour training session. The sample trainees for this session consisted of thirty-seven front-line foodservice workers. To determine the degree to which the use of this video enhanced learning in the training session, two measures were used. The first measure consisted of administering pre- and post-training quizzes (n = 30), and the second consisted of observing and comparing on-the-job HACCP-based food handling practices by members of the test group both before and after the training session. The result showed a significant improvement in quiz scores (p < .0001) and a significant reduction in food handling violations four weeks after the training session (p < .001). However, correlation between the post-training quiz scores and the observation scores of individual trainees could not be established. This result indicates that knowledge did not influence the safe food handling behaviors for this sample group. Other factors such as supervision and job environment may have a stronger effect on the employees' performance in safe food handling than the knowledge.