Food Protection Trends - March/April 2023 - 113

overdue Food Safety Law was not approved until 2016, the
provisions of which were intended to improve public health
(22). To date, Gemayel (42) surmised that it is impossible
to determine whether the Food Safety Law has been
successful because it has yet to succeed in its main objective.
Furthermore, foodborne pathogens have been isolated from
food products available for sale in Lebanon (47, 48, 58).
Foodborne diseases are still a major health issue in Lebanon;
however, outbreaks of foodborne illness are only detected if
spaciotemporal clusters are confirmed to identify a common
food source; sporadic incidences are seldom reported (35).
Despite the development and implementation of food
safety systems and regulations in the food industry to
control food safety hazards, minimize risks, and protect the
consumer, the consumer is considered to be the final line of
defense for food safety (30, 69). Although the food industry
has a legal responsibility to ensure food safety throughout
production, distribution, and retail, the ultimate responsibility
to ensure that food consumed by the consumer is safe
is upon the consumer. Therefore, appropriate awareness of,
and positive attitudes toward, recommended food safety
practices is particularly important among consumers when
purchasing, storing, and preparing food in the domestic
kitchen. Although cleanliness and hygiene are strong
cultural values and are of utmost importance to women in
Lebanon (46), consumer food safety research studies have
identified areas that require improvement and suggest the
need for education interventions.
Consumer food safety research from Lebanon
Consumer attitudes, knowledge, and practices regarding
food safety in the Middle East and North Africa, including
Lebanon, are understudied (19). Similarly, Grace (44)
discussed that data detailing foodborne illness in lowincome
and middle-income countries are limited, whereas
other studies have suggested that consumers in developing
countries are concerned about food safety (56).
In recent years, a small number of food safety research
studies have been conducted with Lebanese consumers.
For example, food safety research with Lebanese university
students proposed that low awareness of food safety
among students contributed to greater consumption of
risk-associated food products and thus increased the risk of
foodborne illness (49). Such research revealed the need for
food safety education in Lebanon on topics related to food
temperature control, proper food preparation practices,
prevention of cross-contamination, suitable cleaning and
hygiene procedures, high-risk groups, and other contributing
factors to foodborne diseases and prevention strategies (49).
Hassan et al. (52) explored the knowledge and selfreported
practices of food handlers in Lebanese households
in terms of food handling, storage, use of kitchen facilities,
and personal hygiene and concluded that there is a need
for ongoing educational initiatives to improve the low food
safety knowledge and practices among food handlers in
Lebanese households. The need for information campaigns to
educate consumers on efficient use of domestic refrigerators
was suggested as a result of research that identified that the
majority of domestic refrigerators in Lebanon had an average
temperature of 8°C (51), exceeding the recommended
refrigeration temperature of 5°C (89). It has also been
suggested that there is a need to educate consumers in
Lebanon on how to read and use food labels (50); this is
essential to support adherence of use-by dates on food
products.
Cumulatively, previous consumer food safety studies with
Lebanese consumers have identified the need for food safety
education interventions to reduce the risk of foodborne
illness. Research suggests that Lebanese consumers are
reportedly willing to pay higher premiums for safer foods and
transparent risk communication (19, 20); thus, consumers
in Lebanon may also be receptive to receiving food safetyrelated
information.
To facilitate the development of effective, targeted
consumer food safety education, there is a need to identify,
consider, and address perception among consumers such
as perceived invulnerability (76), optimistic bias (87), and
illusion of control (59, 83) that may undermine food safety
education attempts (31). Therefore, future food safety
educational messages for the target audience must be tailored
to overcome such perceptions (31).
Despite several consumer food safety research studies
involving consumers from Lebanon, to date, none have
conducted a quantitative analysis to explore the perceptions
of risk, control, and responsibility of consumers regarding
food safety in the region. The majority of research
has focused upon the food safety knowledge and self-reported
food safety practices of consumers in Lebanon (19,
20, 49, 51, 52). Research regarding the risk perceptions
of consumers conducted in Lebanon relates to levels of
concern regarding contracting coronavirus disease 2019
from food sources (37); however such research does not
encompass perceptions of control and responsibility in
relation to the risk.
Perceptions of risk, control, and responsibility
A great deal of consumer food safety research has
been conducted in recent years. Reviews of such studies
suggest that the majority use survey-based methods such
as interviews and questionnaires to capture cognitive data
such as knowledge and self-reported practices (30, 69). Data
from low- and middle-income countries and data detailing
consumer attitudes and particularly consumer perceptions
of risk, control, and responsibility for food safety are lacking.
Such data are important because they can provide insight
into how consumer perceptions may prevent engagement
with food safety education interventions (33).
March/April Food Protection Trends 113
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2023

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