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Users' attitudes of restaurant "self-service": an added risk for food contamination

Objective: To assess users' risk attitudes at the time they serve in restaurants Class A and B with "self-service" distribution. Methods: It was an exploratory study with non-participant observation technique. It was used two criteria for the selection restaurants, the first was determined by the variable value kilogram and the second, using attributes that can classify the type service. To assess the users' risk attitudes it was applied an observation instrument with 13 items, at moment that they were serving. Results: It was assessed the risk attitudes of 373 users of Class A restaurant and 402 of Class B. The items that most express the risk attitude of Class A restaurant were: "don't wash the hands before using the 'self-service'", "talk while serving", "use the utensils to serve food to arrange the foods on the plate". In the restaurant class B, it was observed that the attitude does not wash their hands the percentage was higher than in class A. Regarding to sex, it was observed that the item 1 ("don't wash the hands") had a higher percentage in males. Conclusion: The users' risk attitudes not depend restaurant classification, when considering meal price or sex, reinforce the need for educational strategies to minimize the risk of food contamination.

risk-taking; food services; food contamination


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