Development of a scale to measure consumer perception of the risks involved in consuming raw vegetable salad in full-service restaurants

The importance of the number of meals taken away-from-home represents an opportunity to promote consumption of vegetables in this context. However, the perception of risk may interfere with the food consumption behavior. The objective of this research was to develop a scale to measure consumer perception of the risks involved in consuming raw vegetable salad in full-service restaurants. The following research steps were carried out: item elaboration; content validity; scale purification (item-total correlation, internal consistency and exploratory factor analysis); and construct validity (confirmatory factor analysis). Non-probabilistic samples of consumers were interviewed (a total of 672 individuals) in the city of Campinas, Brazil. Several analyses were carried out using the Predictive Analytics Software 18.0 and LISREL 8.80. The final scale contained 26 items with an adequate content validity index (0.97) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.93). The confirmatory factor analysis validates a six risk type factor model: physical, psychological, social, time, financial and performance (chi-square/degrees of freedom = 2.29, root mean square error of approximation – RMSEA = 0.060 and comparative fit index – CFI = 0.98). The scale developed presented satisfactory reliability and validity results and could therefore be employed in further studies.

► Physical, psychological, social, time, financial and performance risks were evaluated.
► Item analysis, scale purification and content and construct validity were performed.
► Non-probabilistic consumer samples were interviewed in Brazil.
► The 26-item scale showed satisfactory internal consistency and validity results.