{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T17:52:16Z","timestamp":1790704336558,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,28]],"date-time":"2025-11-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764288000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>At present, food safety culture (FSC) is a strategic dimension of food management systems, as established by EU Regulation 2021\/382. Understanding how individual and organizational factors influence the safety climate is essential for designing effective training interventions. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in Southern Italy from March to September 2025 among 216 workers from 52 food businesses located in the provinces of Bari and Barletta-Andria-Trani, using a questionnaire based on a validated scale, which is structured into five dimensions of leadership, communication, commitment, risk awareness, and resources. Descriptive analyses, \u03c72 tests, and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to identify predictors of positive perceptions. The overall climate was positive for 82.9% of the sample. The strongest dimensions were leadership (88.4%), communication (86.1%), and risk awareness (84.7%), while resources were identified as a critical area (41.2% of respondents perceived deficiencies, especially in personnel and infrastructure). Overall, the results confirm that FSC is significantly influenced by ongoing training, cultural awareness and job stability. Resource-related challenges indicate a need for greater management investment to concretely support food safety practices.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods14234095","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,3]],"date-time":"2025-12-03T11:29:30Z","timestamp":1764761370000},"page":"4095","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Food Safety Culture and Education: A Cross-Sectional Study in Southern Italy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Piersaverio","family":"Marzocca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, Local Health Authority Bari, 70056 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4468-768X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vito","family":"Cerabona","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, 06129 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vincenzo","family":"Marcotrigiano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Local Health Authority \u201cULSS 1 Dolomiti\u201d, 32100 Belluno, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Umberto","family":"Farina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, Local Health Authority Bari, 70056 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Teresa","family":"Tarricone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, Local Health Unit BT, 76125 Trani, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ylenia","family":"Tatoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, Local Health Authority Bari, 70056 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michele","family":"Lampedecchia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, Local Health Unit BT, 76125 Trani, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giacomo Domenico","family":"Stingi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, Local Health Unit BT, 76125 Trani, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caterina","family":"Spinelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, Local Health Authority Bari, 70056 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria Grazia","family":"Forte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service, Local Health Authority Bari, 70056 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roberto","family":"Rizzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Local Health Authority Taranto, 74121 Taranto, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Annamaria","family":"Dalena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Local Health Authority Taranto, 74121 Taranto, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sandro","family":"Cinquetti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prevention Department, Local Health Authority \u201cULSS 1 Dolomiti\u201d, 32100 Belluno, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7212-4457","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovanni","family":"Normanno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sciences of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2958-5458","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Teresa","family":"Montagna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, Hygiene Section, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5775-2276","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christian","family":"Napoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Surgical Sciences and Translational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00189 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0297-9502","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Osvalda","family":"De Giglio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, Hygiene Section, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3009-9147","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giuseppina","family":"Caggiano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, Hygiene Section, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70124 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2025, October 01). 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