Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SafeConsumE (SafeConsumE: Safer food through changed consumer behavior: Effective tools and products, communication strategies, education and a food safety policy reducing health burden from foodborne illnesses)

Teaser

Foodborne illness caused by bacteria, parasites and viruses represents a significant health and economic burden. World Health Organisation has estimated that about 23 million people suffers from food borne illness in Europe each year, many of them children below 5 years. Food...

Summary

Foodborne illness caused by bacteria, parasites and viruses represents a significant health and economic burden. World Health Organisation has estimated that about 23 million people suffers from food borne illness in Europe each year, many of them children below 5 years. Food safety violations at the consumer stage are common and nearly 40% of food-borne outbreaks occur in the domestic setting.

The overall goal of SafeConsume is to provide effective, science-based and sustainable strategies for food authorities, market actors and the research community to help consumers mitigate risk, thus reducing the health burden from food-borne illness in Europe.

To reach the goal, consumer behaviours that affect the risk of food borne illness will be described and explained. Main steps from retail to consumption where consumers themselves can mitigate risk will be identified. Furthermore, four fundamental strategies for reducing foodborne illness will be suggested, developed and tested:

•Tools, technologies and products (e.g. sensors, apps, hygiene concepts, kitchen utensils) that stimulate safe practices
•Communication strategies that effectively stimulate adoption and market uptake of safer practices and tools/technologies
•Education programmes increasing skills and knowledge and aiding teenagers to handle food safely
•Dynamic, sustainable and inclusive policy models that stimulate and support national and EU level initiatives

Finally, the most promising strategies will be disseminated and implemented.

Work performed

In the first phase of the project, trans-disciplinary working models were developed to enable in-depth exploration of consumer food handling, knowledge, beliefs and attitudes. The emphasis was on the most critical steps for food safety from shopping to consumption and specific target groups (families with pregnant mother or small children, young single men, elderly people and teenagers). A total of 90 households from six European countries were visited by teams of microbiologists and sociologists. People were interviewed and observed during food procurement, transport and preparation. Video and audio recordings, notes, microbial sampling and temperature logging were used for data collection. Furthermore, interviews and focus groups with teenagers and teachers (more than 100 informants) were conducted in four countries covering all regions of Europe. Finally, consumer insights were gathered in designer student projects (40 students, Norway), primarily targeted to fellow students. Together, a unique and comprehensive collection of data on what Europeans do regarding food safety and why has been established, covering several high-risk and target groups, all regions of Europe and focusing on the steps from retail to fork where it is possible to reduce the level of pathogens having highest impact on the health burden. Analysis of the data across countries is in progress.

The occurrence of pathogens (Salmonella, Campylobacter, Norovirus, Listeria) in kitchens covering all European regions ) was investigated. Scientific documentation of the impact of consumer food practices (as found in the project, literature or advised by food safety experts and authorities) on pathogen occurrence, survival, spread and growth during food storage and handling were gathered and data gaps identified. How critical consumer actions, such as how consumers wash salad, check poultry doneness, cook eggs or mussels, or use soiled sponges affect occurrence of pathogens were measured in laboratory models and safer alternatives investigated. The food safety advices from national food authorities to consumers in seven countries as well as from EFSA were collected and systemised. This overview enable an evaluation of the current advices with regard to risk reducing potential (taking both microbe and consumer insights into consideration) and an analysis on consistency between countries in Europe. Finally, food safety beliefs were collected and laboratory demonstrations conducted to document whether they were invalid (then designated as myth) or true (then designated as knowledge).

Information from the data collection from households, laboratory experiments, literature and market data were systemized and shared in a data base (Risk behaviour map). The information was used as the foundation for developing a web-based survey to obtain quantitative data on consumer behaviour and will be used to develop risk mitigation strategies.

Education of young people and communication with adults are crucial to make people able to cook food in a safer way. A meta-analysis of the state of the art for how risk communication can change behaviour was conducted. Also, curriculums from seven countries were analysed and will be used together with the student and educator data on knowledge, beliefs and attitudes to define main learning points for the educational programs.

Convenient tools and products that help consumers to mitigate risk can potentially have a large impact across cultures and consumer groups. A feature of the project is that it allows work to start at multiple points in the overall innovation process at the same time. Therefore, a draft opportunity map has already been created, a number of functional specifications and design concepts produced, and technical design work has started on some of the pre-selected technical areas.

A holistic approach is needed to establish a more inclusive policy that balance between food safety, nutrition, costs, environmental and

Final results

In the first period the following progress beyond the state of the art and impact has been obtained:

1. Trans-disciplinary working models combining Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), Theory of Practice, Theoretical domains Network and Design-driven innovation were developed and used. These models will form a platform for future research, innovation and communication.

2. The fieldwork (90 households, > 100 teachers/students) has resulted in a unique and comprehensive pan-European overviews of what people do, know, and believe with regard to food safety. When published, the overviews will provide crucial consumer insight for market actors, the scientific society and authorities working with food safety.

3. The results from the laboratory studies so far demonstrate how common consumer practices and beliefs across Europe contribute to higher risk. Examples of how advices from the media as well as authorities fail to contribute to risk mitigation, either because they were not risk based or based on consumer needs, were found. These findings will be used to develop more effective food safety messages, educational materials and tools for keeping food safe.

The work done so far will contribute significantly to the further development of effective, science-based and sustainable strategies for food authorities, market actors and the research community to help consumers mitigate risk.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.safeconsume.eu.