Perceptions of food hygiene risk in a group of Tamil food handlers living in the UK

In this study, two groups of people were asked about their perceptions of the public health risks associated with poor food hygiene practices. One group consisted of commercial food handlers (n = 60) who had undergone food hygiene training; the other group consisted of people (n = 60) who only handled food at home. Data were gathered using a self-completed questionnaire based upon those parameters commonly believed to determine public perceptions of risk. It was found that general awareness of the risk of food-borne disease was elevated in the commercial food handlers and optimistic bias was reduced. These two factors might be expected to militate towards positive food hygiene behaviour. However, the respondents also reported a marked increase in their perception of the degree of control available concerning their vulnerability and the vulnerability of others to food-borne disease. This increase in perceived control would be expected to reduce their overall perception of the importance of the risk of food-borne disease. The relevance of the two potentially conflicting outcomes of training, described previously, is discussed.