Comparison between Self-Reported and Observed Food Handling Behaviors among Latinas
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The study was conducted to compare and identify the magnitude of differences between self-reported and observed food safety behaviors among women preparing a chicken and salad dish at home. The observed food safety practices also were compared according to sociodemographic variables and prior food safety education. Sixty Puerto Rican women who were the main meal preparers for their households were recruited in Hartford, Conn. Three household visits were made to (i) deliver food ingredients to prepare the chicken and salad meal, (ii) conduct household observation, and (iii) conduct a self-reported survey. The difference between self-reported and observed behaviors varied across food handling and sanitation behaviors. There was a high level of inaccuracy for socially desirable behaviors such as hand washing; the vast majority of participants reported practicing these behaviors but they were not observed doing so. Cutting board washing also was considerably overreported, questioning the validity of these self-reported data for regression analyses. There was a significant association (P < 0.05) between proper thawing method and prior food safety education, use of cutting board and higher income, and washing tomatoes and having a positive attitude towards food safety. Results revealed that overreporting errors must be considered when analyzing and/or interpreting data derived from self-reported food safety consumer surveys and that food safety education and positive food safety attitudes are associated with recommended food safety behaviors.
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Reliance on self-reported practices makes findings susceptible to social desirability and recall bias, potentially resulting in an overly optimistic assessment of food safety knowledge and behaviours compared with alternative approaches.
“reliance on self-reported practices makes findings susceptible to social desirability and recall bias [76,77], potentially resulting in an overly optimistic assessment of food safety knowledge, and behaviours compared with alternative approaches [27].”
From Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) of Urban Consumers in Low-Income and Lower-Middle-Income Countries (LLMICs): A Scoping Review (2026) · cites this paper as [77]
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- Authors
- Dharod, J. M., Pérez-Escamilla, R., Paciello, S., Bermúdez-Millán, A., Venkitanarayanan, K., & Damio, G.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- University of Connecticut (US)
- Hispanic Health Council (US)
- Corresponding author
- Dharod, Jigna Morarji
- Venue
- Journal of Food Protection
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007-08
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1927-1932
- ISSN
- 0362-028X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W160735366
- Cited by
- 60
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 2.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Food Protection (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- University of Connecticut
- National Institutes of Health
- National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (P20MD001765)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food Safety and Hygiene
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Salmonella and Campylobacter epidemiology
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Keywords
- food safety behavior, self-report validity, overreporting, food handling, hand washing, food safety education, food safety attitudes, Hispanic women, Puerto Rican women, food hygiene, sociodemographic factors
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Consumer Product Safety, Female, Food Handling, Hand Disinfection, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Hygiene, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Puerto Rico, Self Disclosure, Health Behavior, Observation
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