Retail deli managers and associates have better food safety culture in stores with lower Listeria monocytogenes contamination

Abstract

Food safety climate and culture is an integral part of a healthy food safety system. While much research has been done on elements of food safety climate and culture, no data are available on their relationship with Listeria monocytogenes contamination at retail. We implemented a forty-four-question survey on sense of commitment, employee training, and personal hygiene in 50 United States grocery retail deli departments across six states to evaluate the links among food safety climate, culture, and L. monocytogenes control. One deli manager and up to five deli associates per establishment completed the survey. Survey responses were correlated with L. monocytogenes contamination risk and prevalence, respectively, via a generalized linear mixed model. Estimate and orthogonal contrast statements with Bonferroni adjustment were applied to elucidate significant effects trends. We found that a greater sense of commitment was correlated with lower L. monocytogenes contamination risk (padj = 0.0317). Delis with low risk of contamination reported a better, more complete employee training program (padj = 0.0117). A deep clean intervention significantly improved managers' (padj = 0.0243) and associates’ (padj = 0.0057) commitment to food safety and their perceptions of training programs (padj = 0.0291). Significant differences in occupation-disaggregated survey responses were reported regarding sense of commitment, training program, and infrastructure cleanability. Personal hygiene and handwashing had mixed results. This is the first study to elucidate the relationship between food safety climate and L. monocytogenes contamination in retail deli environments and provides directionality to sustainably improve food safety climate, culture, and sanitation in retail delis environments.