Food Protection Trends - July/August 2019 - 314

calibration," "time consuming," "unnecessary step," "food
quality reduction," and "cross-contamination." Thermometer
calibration (n = 17), mentioned in all four focus groups,
included topics such as thermometer inaccuracy issues,
having inadequate equipment to calibrate thermometers,
and the process of ensuring that the equipment is working
properly. For example, one employee stated, "If you do not
have your thermometer calibrated ... it's not going to read
the proper temperature."
Mentioned in three focus groups, "time consuming" (n =
13) referred to being in a hurry and having to sanitize the thermometers and check the temperature of every food item. An
employee described "time consuming" by stating "you wipe
it down, ... put it in ... wait for it to reach its maximum temp,
take it out, [and] wipe it down ... It's a little time consuming."
The theme "unnecessary step" (n = 12) referred to the feeling
that using a thermometer on every food item is not necessary and
was mentioned in all four focus groups. An employee said, "In my
opinion, I don't think it's necessary at the end of the day because
whatever's left is down at the bottom ... and ... that's hot."
"Food quality reduction" (n = 4), which referred to issues of
the food losing juices and changing appearance and the food
being overcooked, was mentioned in one focus group. One
employee said, "I've [checked] tater tots and the tater tot fell
apart because I stuck the thermometer in it. So sometimes you
can ruin food."
"Cross-contamination" (n = 3), mentioned in three focus
groups, referred to microbial contamination due to failure to
properly clean and sanitize thermometers between uses. One
employee stated, "If you don't clean your thermometer properly
... you could contaminate [the food] you've just made and
[need] to throw it out."
For control beliefs, participants were asked to list things that
would make it easier and more difficult to use a thermometer
properly to check the temperature of food. These facilitators and
barriers to performing the behavior help to determine an individual's perceived behavioral control toward using a thermometer to check the temperature of food. Within the control belief
construct, barriers (n = 32) were mentioned almost as often as
facilitators (n = 36). Themes that emerged from the category of
facilitators for proper use of a thermometer included adequate
and accessible thermometers, good record keeping procedures,
and communication and teamwork.
The theme "adequate and accessible thermometers" (n =
23) referred to having more thermometers, new thermometers, and easy-to-use thermometers and was mentioned in all
four focus groups. Employees indicated, "Making sure everyone has a thermometer, and that it works," and having "new
thermometers that ... you don't have to calibrate" would be
facilitators to properly using a thermometer.
Mentioned in two focus groups, the theme "good recordkeeping procedures" (n = 5) referred to keeping records to
know who took the temperature of what food item, while
the theme "communication and teamwork" (n = 8) referred

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to topics like developing good work habits, communicating
with other employees, and not having people feel rushed. One
employee described an instance in which communication
broke down and record keeping could have fixed the problem:
...we had an issue with some burgers that weren't up to temp.
I don't know exactly what happened that day ... Somebody
said, "You temped it." Somebody said, "I thought you got it." It
was kind of he-said she-said ... If you had something where you
could write [it] down ... by the oven, you could look at it and
[know], "Oh, yeah. The burgers temped out at 165."
Themes within the category of barriers included "unclear
procedures," "attitude," "time consuming," and "adequate and
accessible thermometers." The theme "unclear procedures"
(n = 11), mentioned in all four focus groups, included topics
such as difficulty reading the thermometer, poorly coordinated
teamwork, and not knowing the importance of the practice.
One employee admitted, "I've never temped French fries and I
saw someone doing it the other day. I'm like, you're supposed
to temp those?"
"Attitude" (n = 10) referred to the feeling that the practice is
not important and was mentioned in three focus groups. One
employee said, "Sometimes people think it's not important.
'Oh, it's just a tater tot, it's all right'. " The theme "time consuming" (n = 6), which referred to the belief that the practice took
too much time, was mentioned in three focus groups. One
employee said, "There are so many steps of doing it and the
waiting ... everything is [a] time issue."
The theme "adequate and accessible thermometers" (n = 5)
referred to not having a thermometer and was mentioned in
three focus groups. One employee said, "I wear aprons with
pockets. My thermometer ... is just ... in my [pocket]. I don't
have to go hunt it down anywhere."
Normative beliefs
Co-workers, parents, students, immediate supervisor, school
nutrition director, school administrators, health inspectors,
and teachers were acknowledged as important referent individuals or groups with expectations of certain behavior. These
people were perceived as caring whether the three practices
were followed properly. The most frequently mentioned group
was "other employees" (n = 15), mentioned in all four focus
groups. Also in all four focus groups, students (n = 9), immediate supervisors (n = 8), and school nutrition managers/
directors (n = 8) were recognized in addition to co-workers.
Parents (n = 9) were identified as important referent individuals or groups in three focus groups. In two of the focus groups,
school administrators (n = 4), health inspectors (n = 3), and
teachers (n = 3) were identified as people who would approve
or disapprove of the way the practice was followed.
DISCUSSION
Among the three food safety practices (proper handwashing, handling of food and work surfaces, and use of

Food Protection Trends - July/August 2019

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