Food safety in temporary foodservice establishments at Louisiana fairs and festivals

Abstract

This research aimed to a) assess food safety at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival by examining critical and non-critical violations over three years; and b) examine the food safety knowledge, attitudes, practices, and demographics of temporary foodservice establishment employees at Louisiana fairs and festivals. This inquiry analyzed the critical and non-critical food violations between 2017 and 2019 at a major Louisiana festival. The study revealed that the most frequently occurring critical violations were related to food serving and storage temperatures. Additionally, the inquiry built on the Knowledge Attitudes Practices (KAP) model to examine mechanisms underlying the link between food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices in Louisiana temporary foodservice establishment vendors at fairs and festivals. The study utilized a multi-step analysis including a structural equation model, which revealed that while knowledge does not directly translate to practices, it influences attitudes, which in turn impacts practices. However, context should be considered in this association. The relationship between knowledge and attitudes was stronger in females than males. Additionally, the relationship between food safety knowledge and practices was stronger in males than females. Because the female representation in the current sample was substantially less than males, future research should examine the relationship between gender and knowledge, attitudes, and practices, utilizing a larger sample. Nonetheless, the current study yielded important insights into food safety at festivals and provides evidence to corroborate that food safety knowledge alone was inadequate in improving behavior. This dissertation also confronts an emerging problem: the absence of descriptive data regarding food safety violations at Louisiana festivals. With this study’s findings, there is more guidance on addressing this pressing issue. The current study revealed that food safety was a crucial concern at a major Louisiana festival by measuring the type and frequency of critical and non-critical violations over three years (2017-2019). Accordingly, because festivals were a seldom-explored area of food safety research, the study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting factors underlying food safety practices among temporary food establishment employees at these events. This was the first known study that assessed food safety in temporary foodservice establishments at a Louisiana festival. Conclusions and implications for festival organizers, foodservice industry, and food safety educators are discussed.