College of Human Ecology Faculty Publications » Hospitality Management and Dietetics

Food safety knowledge and attitudes of low income consumers in the US

Nate — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:46:02 +0000

Although the incidence of foodborne illnesses has declined, thousands of cases are still reported in the United States. In conjunction with industry efforts to reduce foodborne pathogens, consumers play an important role in decreasing foodborne illnesses. To assess food safety knowledge and food handling behaviors of low-income, high-risk populations, a study was conducted with participants of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). A survey was conducted with 1,598 clients from 87 WIC agencies nationwide. Descriptive statistics, chi-square analyses, t tests, and analyses of variance were calculated. A majority of respondents received food safety information from WIC (78.7%), family (63.1%), and television (60.7%). Most respondents recognized the necessity for washing and sanitizing cutting boards and utensils (94.3%), but only 66.1% knew the correct ways to sanitize. Using a thermometer to ensure doneness of meat was least recognized (23.7%) and used by even fewer respondents (7.7%). The majority (77.4%) used color of meat and/or juices when checking the doneness of ground beef items. Over half of the respondents (58.4%) used acceptable thawing methods, but many thawed frozen meats on the counter (21.0%) or in a sink filled with water (20.6%). There were significant differences in thawing methods, overall knowledge scores, and overall behavior scores among different racial and ethnic groups. White respondents had higher knowledge scores than did Hispanics, and blacks had lower behavior scores than did individuals in the other racial and ethnic groups. Results of the study suggested the need for food safety education for low-income consumers and different messages to be delivered to specific demographic groups.

Comparison of Nutrient Content and Cost of Home-Packed Lunches to Reimbursable School Lunch Nutrient Standards and Prices

Nate — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:41:59 +0000

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare nutrient content and cost of home-packed lunches to nutrient standards and prices for reimbursable school lunches.
Methods: Researchers observed food and beverage contents of 333 home packed lunches at four north Texas elementary schools. Nutritionist Pro was used to analyze lunches for calories, total fat, saturated fat, protein, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, fiber, and sodium content. These values were then compared to National School Lunch Program (NSLP) standards and other nutrient standards. Cost of each home-packed lunch was estimated based on food prices at three local supermarkets. A one-sample t-test (p = 0.05) was used to compare nutrient values of home packed lunches to National School Lunch Program (NSLP) standards. A paired t-test was used to compare cost of home packed lunches to each school’s full price for a reimbursable school lunch.
Results: Home packed lunches differed significantly from NSLP nutrient standards, containing fewer calories, more sodium, and less vitamin A, calcium, iron, and dietary fiber. Mean cost of home- packed lunches at 3 of the 4 schools was significantly less than the sales price for the reimbursable school lunches.
Applications to Child Nutrition Professionals: Reimbursable school lunches provided by schools participating in the NSLP provide overall healthier meals for children than most home-packed lunches. Parents should be made aware of the nutritional benefits of school meals.

Evaluation of the nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and food consumption behaviors of high school students before and after completion of a nutrition course

Nate — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:38:40 +0000

Adolescents may lower their risk of becoming overweight and lead a healthier lifestyle by improving their nutrition knowledge and attitudes towards nutrition and health. A quasi-experimental design was used to assess nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and food consumption behaviors of students 14 to 19 years old before and after a nutrition course in a North Texas high school. The intervention group (n = 45) was enrolled in elective family and consumer science courses and received nutrition and health education, whereas the control group (n = 30) received no nutrition education. Identical pre- and post-test questionnaires were completed at the beginning and the end of a semester by students in both groups. Descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation with chi-square analyses, and independent and paired-sample t tests were calculated using SPSS. No differences in the dependent variables existed between the two groups before the intervention, but after the intervention, only the intervention group significantly improved in nutrition knowledge, some attitude scores, and milk and breakfast consumption behaviors. The findings of this study indicate that nutrition education may positively influence the knowledge, attitudes, and eating behaviors of high school students.

An investigation of college and university foodservice administrators’ perceptions of food waste reduction activities and food waste disposal methods

Nate — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:37:25 +0000

This study was designed to investigate foodservice administrators’ perceptions regarding food waste management (FWM) in college and university foodservice operations. Research methods included focus groups and a national survey. The survey questionnaire was developed based on focus groups and validated and pilot?tested before posting online. Sixty?three voting delegates of the National Association of College and University Food Services completed the survey. Educating customers about FWM and composting were selected as most likely to reduce food waste among food waste reduction activities and among food disposal methods, respectively. Results varied depending on management types, operation types, and information source about FWM.

Institutional foodservice benchmarking: survey of administrators’ attitudes and practices in the USA

Nate — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:34:21 +0000

Benchmarking is an ongoing process that gathers information to evaluate the best practices and improve performance. Despite possible changes and benefits, research reporting current foodservice benchmarking is limited. A nationwide survey of foodservice administrators was conducted to determine current practices and administrators’ attitudes toward benchmarking. A questionnaire was developed, validated by experts and pilot-tested. Randomly selected, 600 foodservice administrators from health-care, school, correctional and university facilities received questionnaires, and 121 provided usable data (20%). Food cost percentage, labor cost percentage, and percent customer satisfaction with service were the three most used measures. Benchmarking was regarded as important in performing most respondents’ jobs (61%), but fewer indicated their benchmarking knowledge as being above average (48%). For training, 41% indicated needs for training on ways to collaborate with benchmarking partners. The majority preferred training through professional association meetings (70%) and Internet-based training (69%). Results indicate opportunities for benchmarking training preferably through meetings and Internet.

Food Safety Practices Lacking in Independent Ethnic Restaurants

Nate — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:15:15 +0000

This study compared compliance with the Food Code between ethnic and non-ethnic restaurants and identified specific food safety practices needing improvement. Frequencies for 275 individual Kansas Food Code violations and the number of critical and noncritical violations were compared between independent ethnic, chain ethnic, independent non-ethnic, and chain non-ethnic restaurants. Independent ethnic restaurants had significantly more critical and noncritical violations than the other three types of restaurants. The majority of differences in code violations were found between independent ethnic restaurants and the other three categories. Overall, non-ethnic restaurants had higher food code compliance scores than independent and chain ethnic restaurants.

Labor Productivity Standards in Texas School Foodservice Operations

Nate — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:46:02 +0000

Purpose: Purpose of this research was to investigate utilization of labor productivity standards and variables that affect productivity in Texas school foodservice operations.
Methods: A questionnaire was developed, validated, and pilot tested, then mailed to 200 randomly selected Texas school foodservice directors. Descriptive statistics for variables were calculated. MANOVA and Pearson’s Product Moment correlation were used to test relationships between variables affecting labor productivity.
Results: The most common labor standard used was meals per labor hour (MPLH); both MPLH and labor cost as a percentage of revenue (%LABOR) were utilized more frequently in larger size districts. Meal equivalent (ME) conversions were most commonly defined as: 2 breakfasts = ME; $2.00 = ME; and 3 or 4 after-school snacks = ME.
Applications to Child Nutrition Professionals: There was little consistency in use of labor productivity standards and ME conversions in Texas school foodservice operations, which limits their validity for external benchmarking. However, these standards can be used internally to
effectively forecast labor needs, aid decisions about productivity, and hold employees accountable for their time.

Food Safety Training Needs Assessment for Independent Ethnic Restaurants: Review of Health Inspection Data in Kansas

Nate — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:40:16 +0000

??Each year, commercial foodservice operations in the United States serve over 70 billion meals/snacks. The majority of foodborne disease outbreaks have been attributed to commercial foodservice establishments, and independent ethnic restaurants received poorer inspection scores than the non-ethnic or chain restaurants. These findings imply additional need for food safety training for ethnic restaurant employees. To identify specific food safety training needs, online health inspection reports of 500 randomly-selected independent restaurants in 14 Kansas counties were reviewed. Food code violations were recorded and categorized for further analysis. Numbers of critical and non-critical violations, inspections within 12 months, and violations within each category for ethnic and non-ethnic restaurants were compared, using independent t-tests. Ethnic restaurants had more critical (4.52 ± 2.97) and non-critical violations (2.84 ± 2.85) and more frequent inspections (2.29 ± 1.63) than non-ethnic restaurants (2.90 ± 2.83, 1.71±1.94, and 1.76 ± 1.11, respectively, P < 0.001). Significantly more (P < 0.05) violations were reported in ethnic restaurants for several categories: time and temperature control of PHFs, physical facility maintenance, protection from contamination, hand hygiene, proper use of utensils, demonstrated knowledge, and food temperature control for non-PHF. The data suggested that ethnic restaurant personnel need increased food safety training, especially for critical behaviors such as time and temperature control and hand washing.

The antecedent role of customer-to-employee relationships in the development of customer-to-firm relationships

Nate — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:58:21 +0000

In this study, a customer-to-employee (C-E) relationship construct is employed to test the antecedent role of C-E relationships in the development of customer-to-firm (C-F) relationships. The s propose a conceptual model of the relationships that are hypothesized to exist among the constructs of ‘rapport’, ‘relational benefits’, ‘affective commitment’, and ‘dedicational behaviours’’ of customers with respect to full-service restaurants. This study demonstrates that rapport has a positive influence on customers’ perceptions of relational benefits and that rapport and enhanced perceptions of relational benefits induce customers to develop affective commitment and form intentions to engage in dedicational behaviours’ toward restaurants.

Understanding Japanese tourists’ shopping preferences using the Decision Tree Analysis method

Nate — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:52:57 +0000

This study was designed to assess the factors affecting Japanese tourists’ shopping preference and intention to revisit Korea. The analytical method applied in this study was Decision Tree Analysis, which is under-utilized in tourism studies. A total of 300 questionnaires were collected on the basis of on-site survey method and used for data analysis. Among interesting findings, three groups including ‘respondents who were satisfied, accompanied, and spent US$50-300 on shopping’, ‘respondents who were satisfied, accompanied, and had a shopping expenditure of US$300-1000’ and ‘respondents who were satisfied, accompanied, and had a shopping expenditure of US$1000-5000,’ showed a high level of intention to return to Korea for the purpose of shopping. In addition, two groups ‘those who were interested in shopping in Korea, preferred a shopping mall as a shopping destination, and had an educational level of below high school’ and ‘those who were interested in shopping in Korea, preferred a shopping mall as a shopping destination, and had an educational level of a college graduate or above’ showed a higher level interest in merchandise than in shopping venue attractiveness.