Fostering Food Safety Culture in Restaurants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): Leadership Impact on Food Handlers’ Commitment and Compliance

• Food handlers’ commitment is associated with hygiene practices. • Transactional leadership is associated with commitment and hygiene practices. • Transformational leadership is associated with commitment and hygiene practice. • Commitment acts as a mediator between both leadership styles and hygiene practices. • There is no optimum leadership style; favor situational approach. The frequency of foodborne illnesses remains high in most countries and is influenced, among other factors, by the hygienic practices of food handlers. It is now widely recognized that food handlers’ behaviors are often determined by the food safety culture of the businesses in which they work. Proposed models of food safety culture consistently identify food safety leadership as a factor integral to success. Leadership styles vary and can influence the level of commitment to food safety shown by both the business and its employees and particularly by food handlers. To improve food safety performance, this study was designed to: (i) evaluate the level of commitment among food handlers within restaurant environments in Dubai/United Arab Emirates (UAE) and (ii) to investigate the impact of two leadership styles on the food handlers’ commitment to food hygiene behavior using structural equation modeling (SEM). A cross-sectional study was undertaken using a validated questionnaire to collect data from 712 food handlers in 70 restaurants, which was analyzed. Food handlers expressed a high commitment to food safety (75.3%), and a desire to implement good hygiene behaviors (80.8%). After applying SEM and factor analyses, food handlers’ responses showed that they had a very positive perception of transformational leadership styles (80.3%) and to a slightly lesser extent transactional style (70%). These perceptions of leadership behaviors positively influenced their commitment to food safety and acceptable hygiene practices ( p < 0.05). These findings will assist food services management in developing a leadership style capable of generating a positive food safety culture firmly based on employee commitment to continuously improve food hygiene behaviors and compliance.