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Safe food-handling media campaigns have been successful at improving some safe food-handling behaviours among consumers. However, little is known about whether specific mechanisms of change, such as habit and perceived risk, can improve the effectiveness of safe food-handling campaign materials. Consequently, this study aims to determine if habit and risk-based behaviour change techniques can improve the effectiveness of safe food-handling media campaign materials.

A prospective experimental design was used. Participants completed baseline measures of habit, perceived risk and behaviour before watching two short safe food-handling video advertisements. Participants were then randomly assigned to complete either a habit or a perceived risk-based behaviour change technique task. Two weeks later, participants completed the baseline measures again. A series of multivariate analyses of variance were conducted to determine differences over time between the two groups in relation to habit, perceived risk and behaviour.

Significant increases in habit (p < 0.001), perceived risk (p < 0.001) and behaviour (p < 0.001) among all participants were found over the study period. However, there were no significant differences in these changes between participants who completed either task for the majority of the target behaviours and related constructs. This suggested that both habit and risk-based behaviour change techniques may help improve campaign materials; however, future research is needed to determine these effects in comparison to a non-active control group.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to compare the use of two behaviour change techniques for improving safe food-handling health messaging materials. Future safe food-handling media campaigns would benefit from including habit and risk-based behaviour change techniques.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of choice on the development and maintenance of a fruit consumption behaviour and if behaviour change was underpinned by habit strength.

A 2×2×3 mixed model experimental design was used. The independent variables were pictorial cue and fruit consumption manipulated on two levels: choice and no choice, across three-time points: baseline, post-intervention (after two weeks) and follow-up (one week later). Participants (n=166) completed demographics, the self-report habit index and fruit intake at all three-time points.

All participants showed significant increases in fruit consumption and habit strength at post-intervention and follow-up. However, participants provided neither choice of cue nor fruit showed a significant decrease in consumption at follow-up.

Fruit consumption can be significantly increased with a relatively simple intervention; choice seems to have an effect on behaviour maintenance, providing no choice negatively effects behaviour maintenance post-intervention. This may inform future interventions designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.

The intervention that the authors designed and implemented in the current study is the first of its kind, where choice was manipulated in two different ways and behaviour was changed with a simple environmental cue intervention.

Foodborne illness remains high globally, with the majority of cases occurring in the domestic environment. Research in the safe food-handling domain is limited by the absence of an up-to-date and suitable measure of safe food-handling knowledge for use among consumers, with previous measures limited by questionnaire design features that increase participant burden and burnout and a lack of alignment with current safe food-handling guidelines. The purpose of this study is to develop a safe food-handling knowledge measure to capture a comprehensive understanding of consumers’ safe food-handling knowledge while minimising participant burden and burnout.

Items were developed and evaluated prior to administering them to participants. Data was collected among 277 participants who completed the measure online.

Results indicated that the measure had good acceptability among participants in the sample (mean = 5.44, SD = 0.77, range = 2.42–7) and that the measure had acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.60), item discrimination and item difficulty. These findings suggest that the safe food-handling knowledge measure would be suitable for use in future studies examining consumer safe food-handling.

This study provides an updated, acceptable and suitable safe food-handling knowledge measure for use among consumers to better understand consumers’ understanding of safe food-handling practices. Use of this measure in future research can improve the measurement of consumer safe food-handling knowledge to allow for better tailoring of future interventions and health campaigns for safe food-handling among consumers.

The prevalence of foodborne illness remains high in Australia. In response, government initiatives have been implemented to inform consumers of ways to safely handle food. The aim of this study was to examine the accuracy of prompted and unprompted recall of messages from a safe food-handling media campaign in Western Australia, and whether this accuracy of prompted and unprompted recall differed by demographic factors and the mode of delivery of the campaign materials.

Survey responses from 121 participants (M_age = 47.15 years, SD = 15.52) who reported seeing or hearing the campaign were analysed. A series of chi-square tests were used to determine the accuracy of recall when prompted and unprompted, and the accuracy of unprompted and prompted recall across demographic factors and mode of delivery.

Results indicated that more participants accurately recalled the campaign messages when prompted (66.1%) compared to unprompted (35.5%), when they had seen outdoor advertisements (e.g. at bus stops or in shopping malls), and if they were between 30 and 45 years of age.

This study is the first to explore the uptake and comprehension of messages from a safe food-handling media campaign. Evaluation of safe food-handling media campaigns has shown some efficacy in relation to behaviour change; however, little is known about the uptake or comprehension of the campaign messages, and factors that may influence this.

Breakfast consumption is associated with a range of beneficial health outcomes including improved overall diet quality, lower BMI, decreased risk of chronic disease, and improved cognitive function. Although there are many models of health and social behaviour, there is a paucity of research utilising these in breakfast consumption and very few studies that directly compare these models. This study aims to compare the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the health action process approach (HAPA) in predicting breakfast consumption.

University students (N=102; M=19.5 years) completed a questionnaire measuring demographics, TPB and HAPA motivational variables, and intentions. Behaviour and HAPA volitional variables were measured four weeks later.

Using structural equation modelling, it was found that the TPB model was a superior fit to the data across a range of model indices compared to the HAPA. Both models significantly predicted both intentions and behaviour at follow up; however, the TPB predicted a higher proportion of the variance in breakfast consumption (47.6 per cent) than the HAPA (44.8 per cent). Further, the volitional variables did not mediate the intention-behaviour gap, and the data were not an adequate statistical fit to the model compared to the TPB.

The results support the use of the TPB and show that some aspects of the HAPA are useful in predicting breakfast consumption, suggesting that risk perception and self-efficacy be targeted in interventions to increase behaviour. The volitional variables did not appear to mediate breakfast consumption indicating that intention is still the strongest predictor, at least in this behaviour.

The current study is the first to compare the TPB and HAPA in predicting breakfast consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to utilise the comprehensive Food Safety Knowledge Instrument to compare food hygiene knowledge across a population of high school and university students in Australia and the UK.

In total, 475 students from secondary schools and universities in Australia and the UK took part in a survey, which included a Food Safety Knowledge Instrument and demographic items.

Food safety knowledge was generally very low. High school students had a mean score of only 38 per cent, while university students just reached a “pass” with a mean of 54 per cent. Demographics accounted for 41 per cent of variance in food knowledge scores. Female gender, being at university rather than high school, and living out of home rather than with parents were associated with greater food knowledge. Residing in Australia rather than the UK and being older were also associated with greater knowledge; however, these findings were subsumed by education group. Socio-economic status was not a significant predictor of food knowledge.

Identifying demographic and cultural differences in food knowledge can help to identify at-risk populations to better target in theory and knowledge-based interventions.

This study is the first to apply the knowledge instrument in an Australian population. Understanding the baseline knowledge in this population is an important first step at developing effective interventions for food safety.

Adhering to the guidelines regarding the consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with positive health outcomes. Subjective well-being has been demonstrated to have a causal influence on positive health outcomes. The aim of this paper is to examine whether subjective well-being could add to the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in predicting fruit and vegetable consumption.

A total of 72 undergraduates completed online measures of the TPB variables, subjective well-being components (happiness and life satisfaction) and fruit and vegetable consumption at a single time point.

Subjective well-being made a significant contribution to the variance explained for both intention to consume fruit and vegetables and actual fruit and vegetable consumption (1.7% and 4.3%, respectively). Perceived behavioural control and happiness were found to be significant unique predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption.

The TPB appears a useful model for predicting fruit and vegetable consumption, which is enhanced by the addition of subjective well-being variables. The current study provides direction to future interventions, suggesting that targeting perceived behavioural control and the subjective well-being component of happiness may be useful for improving fruit and vegetable consumption in young adults.

The purpose of the current paper is to investigate the determinants of hygienic food handling behaviour using the health action process approach (HAPA) and to examine if the volitional components of the model or the addition of past behaviour could explain additional variance in behaviour.

A prospective four‐week study investigating the predictive ability of HAPA variables and past behaviour was used. At time 1, 109 participants completed self‐report questionnaires regarding their action self‐efficacy, risk awareness, outcome expectancies and intentions to hygienically prepare food and past behaviour. At time 2, participants returned a follow‐up questionnaire, which measured behaviour, planning, maintenance and recovery self efficacy. Structural equation modelling was used to compare three versions of the HAPA model.

The first model showed that intention was a significant predictor of behaviour explaining 40 per cent of the variance and was the best fit. The second model, which included the volitional components of the HAPA model, did significantly increase the proportion of behaviour explained. The third model, which included past behaviour, increased the variance explained but was not a superior fit to the previous two models.

The results of this study confirm that aspects of the HAPA may be useful in determining hygienic food handling behaviour. However, volitional variables do not appear to be important in this behaviour. The implications of this for future research and interventions are elucidated.

The current study is one of the first to use the HAPA model to predict hygienic food handling behaviour.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing, particularly in young adults who recently have been shown to experience more weight gain than other demographics. Research has focused on factors leading to this weight gain, implicating the abundance of unhealthy foods in the direct environment, yet limited research has examined why some individuals are able to successfully regulate their eating behaviour in this “food-rich environment”. The aim of this research was to explore the perceptions and experiences of successful healthy eaters in order to determine factors that distinguish this group from unhealthy eaters.

Thirty-five healthy weight young adults, who considered themselves to be healthy eaters, participated in seven semi-structured focus groups. Key questions examined how these individuals regulated their eating behaviour and their perceptions regarding such self-control processes.

Thematic analysis revealed that individuals who are successful at maintaining healthy eating behaviour perceive the same barriers as non-successful individuals, yet are able to employ self-control techniques to overcome these barriers. Additionally, continually exerting self-control appeared to facilitate the formation of healthy eating habits.

Future research may benefit from attempting to modify self-control ability and develop healthy habits.

While factors leading to obesity and the cognitions of those who are overweight have been extensively examined, limited research has focused on those who are able to regulate their eating behaviour. Additionally, limited qualitative research has examined implicit theories of self-control in an eating context.