Glenyce Peterson-Vangsness, Extension Educator
Team Members
Research Findings
Research and Evaluation Plan
Principal Investigator:
Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, Professor, Department of Food Science
and Nutrition, St. Paul, MN
Population Demographic
Co-Principal Investigators:
Glenyce Peterson-Vangsness, Extension Professor,
University of Minnesota Extension, Mankato, MN
Kendra Kauppi, Research Associate, Dept. of Food Science and
Nutrition, St. Paul, MN
Thomas Bartholomay, Evaluation Specialist, College of Food,
Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences, St. Paul, MN
Collaborator:
Claudia Buzo de Diez, Certified ServSafe® Instructor,
Dept. of Food Science and Nutrition, St. Paul, MN
Additional staff:
Balvina Balistieri (not pictured)
Amy Mayer (not pictured)
Survey Section:
Reported Individual Food Safety Behavior
Project Goal
The ultimate goal of this food safety research and
Extension program was to enhance food safety best
practices (FSBP) by Spanish speaking food service
workers using comprehensive approaches.
Specific Objectives
About how often during a
typical shift do you do the
following things?
Extension Approaches
A. Direct Contact Instruction
tests before and after the class
 Final test given at the fourth session
 ServItUpSafely Spanish Renewal
 Required 4-hour food safety training every 3 years for MN CFM's
 Spanish CFM renewal training approved by MDH and MDA
 Includes 4 hours of hands-on training in current food safety best
practices
 Community Meetings
 Educational forum where the food service industry (managers and
staff), academics and regulatory agencies, discussed topics in
FSBP
 Food Safety Employee Training (FSET) Spanish
 Classes offered on-site at a food establishment
 Includes 2 hours of hands-on training in FSBP
 Classes developed based on educational food safety needs of
employees
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Issues Addressed
 Food safety training has not properly met the needs of the growing Hispanic
population because of a lack of language specific and culturally appropriate
training/classes
 Passing rate of traditional 1-day Certified Food Manager (CFM) courses in
Spanish was 60% in MN
 Less than 10% of the Spanish speaking restaurant workers had formal food
safety training
 No information on long term behavior changes as a result of food safety
training exist
Project Term
September 2009 to August 2014

Voluntary food protection system sponsored by the Twin Cities
Advanced Practice Center (APC) and the City of Minneapolis
Encourage restaurants to inspect their operation based on a risk
assessment checklist
C. Technology-Based Food Safety Training

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Translate into Spanish, U of M Extension English ServItUpSafely™
CFM renewal online food safety course modules
Pilot online course as a hybrid: renewal online food safety course
modules plus technology training at local community computer
center
Contributors
City of Minneapolis Health Department—Curt Fernandez, Manager;
Tim Jenkins, District Supervisor
City of St. Paul Health Department—David Weisberg, Sanitarian
MDH Mankato District Office—David Reimann, Sanitarian
MDA Mankato District Office—Tami Gerdes, Dairy & Food Inspection Division
Latino Economic Development Center
University of Minnesota Extension—Antonio Alba, Extension Educator
University of Minnesota Extension—Kristen Mastel, Outreach & Instruction Librarian
University of Minnesota Extension—LuAnn Hiniker, Regional Director
National Restaurant Association—Amy Roedl, Ph.D.
Wash your hands with soap
5.57
5.88
+0.31*
Use gloves
4.31
4.96
+0.65*
Use tongs or deli tissue
3.82
4.88
+1.06*
Use a thermometer
1.65
1.68
+0.30
Use a test strip
1.75
1.72
-0.03
Wash, rinse, or sanitize food
contact surfaces
3.80
4.67
+0.87*
AVERAGE
+0.48
* statistically significant
Food Safety Information Network
Among Restaurant Employees
Diagram indicating who employees go to for food safety information
B. Self Audit Program
 40% of outbreaks have been attributed to commercial food service
establishments (Olsen et al., 2000)
Within the next decade the food service industry will employ 14.8 million
people
8% of the food service establishments are owned by Hispanics (NRA 2009)
17% of undocumented people work in the food service industry from an
estimated population of 5.3 million (Lowell and Fry, 2002)
In Minnesota:
 55% of the food service workers speak predominantly Spanish.
 The Hispanic population reached to 4% of the entire population (Census
Bureau 2010)
Overall Accomplishments
 ServSafe® Spanish Series
 Format of four 2.5-hour sessions given once a week for CFM’s
 Includes hands-on activities, take-home assignments, and practice
1. Define the unique characteristics and situations of the Spanish speaking
food service worker (FSW) and manager population related to learning and
using FSBP.
2. Identify “knowledge/information systems” within food service establishments
that inhibit and support the adoption and utilization of FSBP by Hispanic
FSW.
3. Develop and implement effective training for Spanish speaking FSW and
managers.
4. Develop and implement education methods that deliver effective food safety
education to Spanish speaking FSW.
5. Develop and implement effective onsite educational approaches for
restaurants employing Spanish speaking FSW and managers.
6. Evaluate the proposed training activities and determine their effectiveness at
generating FSBP learning/skill gains, behavior change, and the adoption of
best practices and related organizational systems by food service
establishments.
Background
Extension
Extension
Impact
Impact
Average score on a 6-point scale from “Never/
Almost Never” to “Every 15 min”
Pre
Post
Change in average pre(n=70)
(n=58)
minus post– scores
Performance Improvement
Average
Pass Rate (%)
Average
Test Score (%)
NIFSI Grant (4 days)
81
83
Minnesota (1 day)
60
59
National (1 day)
72
63
ServeSafe® in Spanish
Square = employees; Highlighted Squares = Certified Food Managers; Size of square = number of people
using employee as resource, Lines = food safety information connection between employees; Arrow
direction = employee who is utilized for food safety information; Line color and/or line number = Red (1):
different shifts; Blue (2) same shift; Green (3) family, different shift; Grey (4) family, same shift
References
Census Bureau (2010). National and State Population Estimates.
www.census.gov/popest/
Lowell, B. L. and R. Fry (2002). Estimating the distribution of undocumented workers in the urban labor
force. The Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, DC.
National Restaurant Association (NRA) (2009) Industry at a glance. Available from:
www.restaurant.org/research/ind_glance.cfm
Olsen, S. J., L.C. MacKinnon, J. S. Goulding, N. H. Bean and L. Slutsker (2000) Surveillance for foodborne-disease outbreaks, United States, 1993-1997. MMWR 49:1-62
Barriers
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Low attendance rates and frequent cancellations
Elementary school predominant level of education
Advance study not being done; low or failing test scores
Lack of successful role models of the culture
Lack of trust with officials and inspection systems
High turnover rate of restaurant workers
University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer