ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
Questionnaire We adapted the questionnaire developed and validated by Abdelmassih et al. (2016) and col- lected demographic information. Experts in food safety, food service, and research design ( n = 5) reviewed the questionnaire for validity and clarity before pilot testing. The questionnaire was translated into Spanish and then translated back into English to check for accuracy. Pilot Study We piloted the revised questionnaire with five owners, operators, or managers of inde- pendently owned Orlando metropolitan area restaurants. The pilot questionnaire included 1 open-ended and 11 multiple-choice ques- tions to assess language clarity for English and Spanish, survey design, and flow. Data Collection and Analysis After pilot testing, we used the survey plat- form Qualtrics to collect questionnaire responses electronically. The Florida DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants has an online directory of restaurants in Florida. Based on this directory, we communicated with restaurant owners, operators, and man- agers to explain that participation was volun- tary and would not aect their employment status. Participants could refuse or discon- tinue participation at any time and would still be able to enter the drawing for gift cards. We sent participants three reminder emails. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27.0.
TABLE 1 continued
Demographic Characteristics of Participating Independent Restaurant Owners, Operators, and Managers ( n = 103)
Characteristic
#
%
Owned or managed current restaurant (years) <1
12 59 15
11.7 57.3 14.6
1–5
6–10
11–15
5
4.9
≥16
11
10.7
Not answered
1
1.0
Food service experience (years) <1
1
1.0
1–5
43 24 14 20
41.8 23.3 13.6 19.4
6–10
11–15
≥16
Not answered
1
1.0
Restaurant type
Casual (full service)
40 35 13 10
38.8 34.0 12.6
Quick service
Fine dining (full service)
Takeout and delivery
9.7 3.8 1.0
Other
4 1
Not answered
Type of cuisine American
42 31 10
40.8 30.1
Latinx (e.g., Mexican, Puerto Rican, Venezuelan)
Results
Italian
9.7 4.9 1.0 1.0 1.0
Chinese
5 1 1 1
Demographic Characteristics In total, 111 questionnaires were returned with a response rate of 19%. Of these ques- tionnaires, we eliminated eight incomplete submissions (Table 1). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020), female employees make up the majority (53%) of the food service industry workforce, but in our study, most respondents were male employ- ees ( n = 65, 63%). Nearly one third of par- ticipants were in the age range 26–33 years ( n = 33, 32%), corresponding with the aver- age employee age of 31.6 years (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). Moreover, more than one third of participants were Hispanic or Latinx ( n = 42, 41%), which is higher than the national number (26%) in the U.S. restau- rant industry (NRA, 2024).
Indian
Japanese
Vietnamese
Other (e.g., French, Haitian, Jamaican, Spanish, Thai)
11
10.7
Not answered
1
1.0
English was the most commonly spoken first language ( n = 63, 61%), followed by Spanish ( n = 35, 34%). Moreover, 43 par- ticipants (42%) had 1–5 years of experience working in a food service establishment. Fur- ther, 59 participants (58%) had 1–5 years of experience owning or managing a food ser- vice establishment. American cuisine was the most commonly represented cuisine ( n = 42, 41%), followed by Latinx cuisine ( n =
31, 30%). Full-service casual operations ( n = 40, 39%), were slightly more common than quick-service operations ( n = 35, 34%). Food Allergy Policies and Procedures Most participants ( n = 85, 83%) reported zero occurrences of allergic reaction in a customer in their restaurant. Fewer than one in five ( n = 15, 18%) acknowledged at least one patron had suered an allergic reaction
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Volume 87 • Number 3
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