This project will develop a series of interactive multimedia training programs for food handlers to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness by providing both information about safe food handling and motivation to apply the information. Four separate programs will be developed, one for each of four workplaces: institutions, fast-food restaurants, delicatessens, and sit-down restaurants. The programs will be appropriate for use by commercial and non-commercial food service establishments, public health agencies, and vocational programs. Formative evaluation procedures will be employed to develop materials to train food handlers (as well as some additional materials for owners/managers). In Phase I of the project, a prototype CD-ROM program segment focusing on the two largest sub-groups of food handlers in the delicatessen industry (i.e., male and female Caucasians) will be developed and its efficacy evaluated in a randomized control trial involving 80 food handlers. In Phase II, we will complete the development of customized training programs for the remaining food service establishments. By the end of Phase II, we will have completed all research, design, video production, programming, evaluation, and other tasks necessary for full-scale production of interactive multimedia programs for use in training food handlers nationwide.
This project will lead to the production of an interactive CD-ROM program that provides information designed to prevent foodborne illness by informing and motivating foodservice workers to use safe foodhandling techniques. It will be attractive to foodservice establishments, institutions, and governmental organizations that promote food safety.
