Food Protection Trends - July/August 2017 - 266

TABLE 4. Multivariable logistic regression model results of demographic factors
associated with participants' food safety knowledge scores (proportion of
correct responses out of 27 questions)
Variablea

Odds ratio

SE

95% CI

P value

1.20

0.11

0.99, 1.44

0.058

Gender
Female (referent)
Male
Years lived in Canada
≥ 10 (referent)
5 to < 10
≤5

0.004
0.78
0.68

0.12
0.08

0.58, 1.04
0.53, 0.86

Education level
Completed college/
university or higher
degree (referent)
Some college/university
High school or lower

0.020
-

-

-

-

0.76
0.84

0.08
0.10

0.62, 0.92
0.67, 1.05

0.006
0.132

Years worked in the food service industry
≥ 10 (referent)
5 to < 10
1 to < 5
<1

0.090
0.001

1.15
0.73
0.84

0.001
0.17
0.09
0.14

0.86, 1.53
0.57, 0.93
0.61, 1.15

0.194
< 0.001
0.128

Model details: n = 187; Goodness-of-fit (data grouped into five quantiles) = 5.58 (P = 0.134).

a

infractions among operators of ethnic restaurants than
among operators of non-ethnic restaurants (8), indicating
that additional efforts may be needed to address food safety
knowledge or training gaps in diverse immigrant and ethnic
populations (e.g., ensuring proper translation of training
materials). Participants who had worked for ≥ 10 years in
the food service industry had significantly higher food safety
knowledge scores than participants who had worked for 1 to
< 5 years in the food service industry (OR = 1.37; P < 0.001)
(Table 4). Perhaps participants with ≥ 10 years of experience
were able to draw from their technical food safety experience,
and the practical experience they obtained over their years
of service added to their food safety knowledge. This is
supported by results of another study that examined the
food safety knowledge of restaurant managers in Oklahoma,
where scores on a food safety exam increased as the amount
of time a participant had worked in the food service industry
increased (10). The number of years worked in the food
industry was also found to be a significant factor related to

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Food Protection Trends July/August

increased food safety knowledge in an evaluation of food
handlers in British Columbia, Canada (12).
Previous studies have examined the value of certification and
recertification for food handlers (11, 12, 23) but there seems
to be a gap in the literature concerning when recertification
should occur. No statistically significant relationship was found
between the amount of time that had passed since the last food
handler certification course and the amount of food safety
knowledge possessed, at least for the time frames examined
in this study (Table 4). The lack of a relationship might be
because the time frames examined were too short, and longer
times from the last certification course should have been
studied. Future research is needed to explore the optimal time
for food handler recertification, examining longer time periods
from initial certification than were examined in this study,
which had a maximum time frame of ≥ 5 years from initial
certification. Perhaps time frames of 10 years and 20 years
post-initial certification should be examined to adequately
observe and measure food safety knowledge attrition, with a
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