Evaluation of Dietitians' Perception of Importance about HACCP Guidelines in Foodservice Facilities

Bae, Hyun Joo

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the perception of importance about HACCP guidelines of dietitians. A questionnaire was developed to achieve research objectives and sent to random samples of 500 dietitians by a mail ; 418(84%) responses were analyzed. The respondents used three-point-scale to rate their perception of importance about HACCP from 1-"will be necessary" to 3-"very important". All statistical analyses were conducted using SAS package(version 8.12) for Windows. Means and standard deviations were computed for all variables. One-way analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple range test were used to assess differences in the perception of importance about HACCP guidelines among business and industry, health care and school foodservice managers. The study results were summarized as follows. Dietitians especially had lower perception of importance on the contents of Critical Control Points(CCPs), such as; adequate thawing methods and keeping records(1.95) and correct cleaning and sterilizing for raw vegetables and fruits(1.93). The rates of perception of importance about HACCP guidelines were significantly different from 19 of the 37 contents among business and industry, health care and school foodservice(p<.05 or p<.01 or p<.001). Generally, the item related to purchasing and inspection management had the highest perception level score and the item related to pre-preparation management had the lowest perception level score in foodservice production process(p<.001). Results indicate that there is a need for increased education of dietitians about HACCP principles and appropriate practices.