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control beliefs related to proper cleaning and sanitizing of work
surfaces revealed differences in all control beliefs (P ≤ 0.05),
with the exception of funds. Differences were found between
absolute and lower intenders on all control beliefs related
to proper hand washing and use of a thermometer to check
the temperature of food. In all instances, absolute intenders
perceived stronger lack of control (i.e., a lower score) than
did lower intenders (P ≤ 0.05), meaning absolute intenders
perceived control barriers, such as lack of supplies and
equipment, to performing the behaviors.
DISCUSSION
The TPB was applied in this study to determine ways in
which food safety professionals can impact actual behaviors of
employees in the child nutrition environment. However, the
applications reach beyond child nutrition because food safety,
training, and behavioral intention transcend practice settings
and situations.
Research indicates that people will intend to perform a
behavior when they perceive it as positive, when they believe
that people important to them think they should perform
that behavior, and when they perceive little to no control
barriers. In this respondent sample, employees already held
very positive attitudes about food safety practices, which
could explain the fact that attitude was not a significant
predictor of behavioral intention. Thus, intervention strategies
that target attitude (i.e., why food safety practices should be
followed, either negative or positive) would not likely influence
behavioral intention in this group.
The strongest predictors of behavioral intent for these
respondents were the social norms and perceived control
beliefs. Intervention strategies that pay particular attention to
social norms and perceptions of control are strongly correlated
with behavioral intention, and increases in one or both of these
constructs will result in an increase in the intention to perform
the behavior.
Future training initiatives should also focus on those indirect
beliefs where significant differences were found between
absolute intenders and lower intenders. Increasing the beliefs
of those with lower intentions to the level equal to or exceeding
the beliefs of absolute intenders may increase the intention
of employees to follow proper practices and thus improve
actual behavior within the operation. For example, to increase
behavioral beliefs across all three behaviors, a focus on the fact
that following proper practices help to decrease the likelihood
that students will get sick while keeping students satisfied and
ensuring high food quality will lead to increased intentions
among those who are not absolute intenders. Interventions
should also emphasize the leadership exhibited by school
nutrition directors, managers, and/or supervisors as role
models. Individuals holding these positions are responsible
for ensuring employees have the necessary resources, such as
accessible and adequate facilities and equipment, for properly
performing their food safety tasks.

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Research has revealed that providing food safety training
based on the theory of planned behavior can significantly
improve food safety behaviors (14). To elicit measurable
change in food safety behaviors among employees, we
recommend the use of motivational strategies, such as
emotional stories and personal examples, to supplement
employee training and education. These strategies should
focus on normative and control beliefs, which were the
strongest predictors of behavior. Realistic and dramatic
examples involving various stakeholders can help emphasize
the importance of food safety and reducing risk, integrating
the perspectives of those whom the school nutrition employee
respects, including the school nutrition director, supervisor, or
health inspector. These types of educational strategies should
reinforce the positive normative beliefs that employees hold
and help to dispel any falsely held control beliefs.
This study and resultant recommendations supplement
previous research examining the theoretical components of
employees' attitudes and can be used to inform the scientific
community of issues germane to reducing food safety risks
in the child nutrition sector. These findings advance our
understanding of how best to implement proper food safety
behaviors among employees in the school environment.
The recommendations reflect previous research from the
restaurant food service sector that underscored how employee
knowledge affected appropriate food safety behavior (11,
21, 22, 35). However, knowledge is not the only element
needed to improve employee behaviors and create noticeable
behavioral changes. This study provides the first theory-based
investigation of how attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived
behavioral controls affect food safety behaviors in the school
nutrition environment.
A limitation of this study is that actual behaviors were not
observed, and the information collected was self-reported, which
can involve selective memory, attribution, and exaggeration.
Further research should explore direct observational methods
that do not rely on self-reported data.
The intention to perform a behavior does not always translate
into use of that behavior on the job. Sheeran and Web (25)
noted that intentions translate into actual behavior only 50% of
the time. However, intention has been noted as a better predictor
of actual behavior than other behavioral theories (6, 19, 35).
An additional limitation of this study is the method used
to collect the data. More than 70% of the respondents were
≥ 40 years of age. The written survey may have yielded a
higher response among older employees, and an online data
collection method might have yielded a higher response rate
from younger respondents.
No completed surveys were obtained from mega districts.
Future studies should consider additional recruitment
methods, such as phone calls, to increase participation of mega
school districts.
Although demographic information was collected from
respondents, the role of each respondent in school operations
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