Role of Food Safety Risk Perception and Attitude on Knowledge and Practice of Adult Consumers in Bangladesh: A Serial Mediation Model

This study aimed to determine the serial mediation effects of behavior-specific risk perception (BRP) and attitude (ATT) toward food safety on the relationship between food safety knowledge (FSK) and self-reported practice (FSP) among adult consumers in Bangladesh. This study conducted a cross-sectional survey on cross-contamination, safe storage, and cooking toward food safety among 503 consumers who handled food at home. The serial mediation effects were examined by using Hayes' PROCESS macro-Model 6 for SPSS. The results showed that BRP partially mediated the relationship between FSK and FSP independently (Effect = 0.175, 95% CI: 0.114 to 0.243). BRP was significantly positively associated with ATT (Effect = 1.28, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and FSP (Effect = 0.532, <i>p</i> < 0.001), forming a serial mediation pathway (Effect = 0.065, 95% CI: 0.037 to 0.099). The total indirect effect of all mediation paths accounted for 50% of the total effect of food safety knowledge on food safety practice.