Determining motivation to engage in safe food handling behaviour

• Protection motivation theory was applied to safe food handling behaviour.
• The model accounted for between 38 and 45% of the variance in motivation.
• Self-efficacy was consistently related to motivation for four behaviours.
• Self-efficacy appears to be an appropriate target for intervention.

PurposeTo apply the protection motivation theory to safe food handling in order to determine the efficacy of this model for four food handling behaviours: cooking food properly, reducing cross-contamination, keeping food at the correct temperature and avoiding unsafe foods.DesignA cross-sectional approach was taken where all protection motivation variables: perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, self-efficacy, response efficacy, and protection motivation, were measured at a single time point.FindingsData from 206 participants revealed that the model accounted for between 40 and 48% of the variance in motivation to perform each of the four safe food handling behaviours. The relationship between self-efficacy and protection motivation was revealed to be the most consistent across the four behaviours.ImplicationsWhile a good predictor of motivation, it is suggested that protection motivation theory is not superior to other previously applied models, and perhaps a model that focuses on self-efficacy would offer the most parsimonious explanation of safe food handling behaviour, and indicate the most effective targets for behaviour change interventions.OriginalityThis is the first study to apply and determine the efficacy of protection motivation theory in the context of food safety.