The perceptions of high street food business operatives in Liverpool towards food safety regulations and the Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) that enforce them

Abstract

Food poisoning is a major concern for public health, reports from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) suggest that there are around 2.4 million estimated UK cases of foodborne illness occurring each year. It has been suggested that the majority of these outbreaks have been the result of poor practices within the food industry. Barriers that potentially prevent good practice and food safety within the food industry include a lack of trust in Environmental health practitioners (EHPs) and Regulatory authorities.

This dissertation explored the barriers to compliance and factors that influence these behaviours, by surveying people who work in the High Street food industry on their levels of trust and compliance with EHPs and regulatory authorities. Reviewing the literature revealed minimal previous research on this topic, although provided insight into behaviour theory and outlined the environmental health concerns that this paper addresses. The majority of food workers are young and have been in the industry for approximately 2-3 years. Overall it was felt the current regulations do not ask too much and are easy to understand, with confidence in their business's understanding of the regulations. Furthermore, the majority of food operators agreed that EHPs provided clear guidance and they would trust the advice given to them by an EHP. Further research should explore trust as a barrier to compliance.