As technology advances, smart phone (SP) use is on the rise, including in foodservice establishments. Likewise, the incidence of foodborne-illness in the United States remains high. The presence of disease-responsible microorganisms on health care employees’ mobile phones is well-documented, but little research has examined this relationship concerning foodservice employees’ SPs. Employees (n=50) from a Michigan foodservice establishment were surveyed for their SP use behaviors, and their SPs were swabbed to detect Salmonella, coliforms, and norovirus. Poor hygienic behaviors, such as SP use in the bathroom (75.5%, n=37) were widespread. ServSafe®-certified employees (46%, n=23) were significantly (p=0.041) less likely to use SPs in the bathroom and washed hands significantly (p=0.035) more frequently before SP use after sneezing and coughing. Scarce coliform growth (4.1 %, n=2), but no Salmonella or norovirus was found on SPs. Unhygienic behaviors reported with SP use during work, necessitate developing policies for SP use by foodservice personnel.
","abstract_html":"<p>As technology advances, smart phone (SP) use is on the rise, including in foodservice establishments. Likewise, the incidence of foodborne-illness in the United States remains high. The presence of disease-responsible microorganisms on health care employees’ mobile phones is well-documented, but little research has examined this relationship concerning foodservice employees’ SPs. Employees (n=50) from a Michigan foodservice establishment were surveyed for their SP use behaviors, and their SPs were swabbed to detect Salmonella, coliforms, and norovirus. Poor hygienic behaviors, such as SP use in the bathroom (75.5%, n=37) were widespread. ServSafe®-certified employees (46%, n=23) were significantly (p=0.041) less likely to use SPs in the bathroom and washed hands significantly (p=0.035) more frequently before SP use after sneezing and coughing. Scarce coliform growth (4.1 %, n=2), but no Salmonella or norovirus was found on SPs. Unhygienic behaviors reported with SP use during work, necessitate developing policies for SP use by foodservice personnel.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["de Gracia,, Louise Louise, R.D."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Health Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Anahita M. Mistry, Ph.D.","Lynne M. Shetron-Rama, Ph.D., M.T. (ASCP)","Alice Jo Rainville, Ph.D., R.D., C.H.E., S.N.S., F.A.N.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z","subjects":["Contamination","Food Safety","Foodservice","Mobile Phone","Smart Phone","Food Science","Nutrition","Public Health"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1146","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Anahita M. Mistry, Ph.D.","Lynne M. Shetron-Rama, Ph.D., M.T. (ASCP)","Alice Jo Rainville, Ph.D., R.D., C.H.E., S.N.S., F.A.N.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["de Gracia,, Louise Louise, R.D."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-05-24T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Contamination","Food Safety","Foodservice","Mobile Phone","Smart Phone","Food Science","Nutrition","Public Health"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1146"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["As technology advances, smart phone (SP) use is on the rise, including in foodservice establishments. Likewise, the incidence of foodborne-illness in the United States remains high. The presence of disease-responsible microorganisms on health care employees’ mobile phones is well-documented, but little research has examined this relationship concerning foodservice employees’ SPs. Employees (n=50) from a Michigan foodservice establishment were surveyed for their SP use behaviors, and their SPs were swabbed to detect Salmonella, coliforms, and norovirus. Poor hygienic behaviors, such as SP use in the bathroom (75.5%, n=37) were widespread. ServSafe®-certified employees (46%, n=23) were significantly (p=0.041) less likely to use SPs in the bathroom and washed hands significantly (p=0.035) more frequently before SP use after sneezing and coughing. Scarce coliform growth (4.1 %, n=2), but no Salmonella or norovirus was found on SPs. Unhygienic behaviors reported with SP use during work, necessitate developing policies for SP use by foodservice personnel.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Foodservice employees behaviors and the presence of foodborne-illness responsible microorganisms on smart phones"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Anahita M. Mistry, Ph.D.","Lynne M. Shetron-Rama, Ph.D., M.T. (ASCP)","Alice Jo Rainville, Ph.D., R.D., C.H.E., S.N.S., F.A.N.D."],"dc:creator":["de Gracia,, Louise Louise, R.D."],"dc:date.available":["2022-05-24T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["As technology advances, smart phone (SP) use is on the rise, including in foodservice establishments. Likewise, the incidence of foodborne-illness in the United States remains high. The presence of disease-responsible microorganisms on health care employees’ mobile phones is well-documented, but little research has examined this relationship concerning foodservice employees’ SPs. Employees (n=50) from a Michigan foodservice establishment were surveyed for their SP use behaviors, and their SPs were swabbed to detect Salmonella, coliforms, and norovirus. Poor hygienic behaviors, such as SP use in the bathroom (75.5%, n=37) were widespread. ServSafe®-certified employees (46%, n=23) were significantly (p=0.041) less likely to use SPs in the bathroom and washed hands significantly (p=0.035) more frequently before SP use after sneezing and coughing. Scarce coliform growth (4.1 %, n=2), but no Salmonella or norovirus was found on SPs. Unhygienic behaviors reported with SP use during work, necessitate developing policies for SP use by foodservice personnel.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1146"],"dc:subject":["Contamination","Food Safety","Foodservice","Mobile Phone","Smart Phone","Food Science","Nutrition","Public Health"],"dc:title":["Foodservice employees behaviors and the presence of foodborne-illness responsible microorganisms on smart phones"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z"}