Average household expenditures on freshly prepared food have grown by 20%, currently ranking 4th
among grocery expenditures. Delis, bakeries and snack bars are preparing and serving an ever increasing
number of fresh, ready-to-eat foods every day. This growth has driven the need for more effective
employee training programs in retail establishments to ensure food safety and worker safety while
ensuring freshness and quality. A large retailer with many stores sought to understand compliance with
corporate written cleaning and sanitizing protocols using ethnographic methods. A total of 8 stores, 3
each in Minnesota and Texas and 2 in Florida were selected as a representative sample. Two, 2-member
teams made morning and evening observations in the cafe, deli, bakery and produce departments.
Compilation and analysis of observations revealed that the majority of the employees had a professional
approach and desired to properly perform the cleaning and sanitizing duties. Challenges voiced in interviews
included insufficient time to clean because customer service tasks took priority. Solutions to
time management identified by the employees were to conduct cleaning by stages and organize cleaning
tasks around daily duties. However there was frequent misunderstanding of proper use of sanitizers and
sanitizers were used as cleaners in some applications. Personal protective equipment was often not used
at all or the wrong equipment was used. Training of employees needs to include demonstrations and
invite the employees' active participation in order to ensure the safety of the food prepared in these
stores, as well as the well-being of the workers.