Structural modeling of the relationship among food safety knowledge, attitude and behavior of hotel staff in Turkey

•Proposed model to investigate relationships among food safety knowledge, attitude and behavior was verified.•The level of knowledge and practice of the staff employed in the hotel was moderate.•Food safety knowledge did not have a significant influence on food safety behavior.•Attitude had mediating effect on the relationship between knowledge and behavior.

The aim of this study is to examine the food safety knowledge, attitude and behavior of staff working in hotels in Turkey, and to investigate the effects of these determinants on each other. For this purpose, a survey is performed with 498 staff who work for different positions in the hotel. The collected data is analyzed by using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling. As a result, it is determined that food safety knowledge has not a significant influence on food safety behavior. However, there is a high correlation between food safety attitude and behavior, and a medium correlation between food safety knowledge and attitude. As a consequence, training, profession and experience of the staff are very important factors to be paid attention for ensuring food safety in enterprises. Thus, it is necessary to determine the training needs of the staff, and to provide training and seminars taking into account the position of each staff in the hotel.