SRA-E Lisbon 2017

Foodborne diseases outbreaks can be caused by food handlers’ inappropriate behaviors and practices (Codex Alimentarius 2009). The way a person appreciates, perceives and acts in the world is conditioned by the habitus, which is influenced by the social class and, it is also updated in the face of life experiences in the social world (Bourdieu 1977). We aim to discuss concepts of Bourdieu's social theory in the context of food handlers, which interfere in their risk perception. The main strategies used were ethnography and participant observation, that was carried out in six commercial restaurants of two Brazilian cities during 42 days. Data about foodservice infrastructure, location, details about the agents, their speeches, nonverbal communications, interpersonal relationship, work routine and relation with food safety were written in field diaries. Content analysis of the thematic type was used to elucidate data (Bardin 1986). It was observed 68 workers. The food handlers’ habitus is the result of numerous social incorporations from both the family and the professional environment. Most of them are from rural and very low income families. The low level of education combined with this scenario makes their risk perception being based more on common sense information than on information disseminated through good practice courses. The cultural richness of these workers makes their peers be the main source of knowledge about the service, whom provide practical techniques for the daily routine, nonetheless, can also act in the dissemination of practices inconsistent with sanitary norms. The negative relationship of domination exercised by bosses may interfere in the disposition to adopt safety practices. The recognition given to workers by bosses, clients and peers has been identified as the central capital that brings them prestige and satisfaction with their work, in addition, it seems acting to increase the interest of compliance with good practices. The type of leadership and the kitchen environment help to comply with sanitary norms, regarding the absence/presence of appropriate physical, structural and personal conditions. Knowledge models the way these workers act in the face of risks, and it may be also a gateway to cognitive biases. In the absence of knowledge, the habitus guides practices. The difficulty in carrying out the practices that guarantee food safety may be due to the fact that these criteria are not experienced by these workers at their own homes, nor in their relatives' lives, then the criteria are not part of their primary habitus.