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<P>Despite the large presence of Latino(a) employees in the restaurant industry, their attitude toward food safety and their practice of food safety behavior on-the-job have not been examined (Erdem et al., 2009). Moreover, no studies have investigated factors to enhance Latino restaurant employees' food safety behavior. While Spanish language food safety training programs are available in the marketplace, a training process incorporating culturally sensitive procedures and tools, which reflect Latino employees' learning styles and their attitudes toward food safety has not been developed. Therefore, the research objective of this study is to identify possible factors that impact Latino restaurant employees' food safety behavior. This study will utilize a computer-based training designed for the Latino restaurant workers to find out which factors affect their attitude and knowledge. </P>
<P>NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Reducing the risk and occurrence of foodborne illness is a priority for the foodservice industry. Despite the large presence of Latino(a)s in the foodservice workforce, there is little research on attitudes toward food safety and related behavior among this group. Despite the large presence of Latino(a) employees in the restaurant industry, their attitude toward food safety and their practice of food safety behavior on-the-job have not been examined (Erdem et al., 2009). Moreover, no studies have investigated factors to enhance Latino restaurant employees' food safety behavior. While Spanish language food safety training programs are available in the marketplace, a training process incorporating culturally sensitive procedures and tools, which reflect Latino employees' learning styles and their attitudes toward food safety has not been developed. Therefore, the research objective of this study is to identify possible factors that impact Latino restaurant employees' food safety behavior. This study will utilize a computer-based training designed for the Latino restaurant workers to find out which factors affect their attitude and knowledge. </P>
<P>APPROACH: Subjects will be recruited locally in Missouri and Kansas to test the effectiveness of a computer-based training program in terms of its effect on attitude and knowledge about food safety. Two approaches will be used to achieve the project objectives. Approach One: The food safety training program for Latino restaurant workers will be linked to the Kansas City Lodging Association website and restaurant association. Cross sectional data collection will be utilized, and the data will be used to test the effectiveness of the training program on the subjects' attitude and knowledge. Approach Two: Quasi-experimental design will be adopted to find out barriers, which prevent the workers from practicing the proper food safety behaviors, and the effectiveness of the training program on actual food safety behavior. </P>