FoodRisC
Food Risk Communication - Perceptions and communication of food risks/benefits across Europe: development of effective communication strategies
Dates
Start date: 1 June 2010
End date: 31 May 2013
Summary
FoodRisC will:
- characterise key configurations of food risk/benefit relationships and their implications for risk communicators
- make recommendations about the unique potential of new social media (e.g. social networks and blogging)
- provide a systematic understanding of how consumers deal with food risk/benefit information.
The project will identify the barriers to communicating to consumers across Europe and identify key socio-psychological and socio-demographic characteristics, including gender, that affect food risk/benefit perceptions and processes as well as consumer preferences for communication channels.
Impacts
These objectives will be achieved through a range of research approaches and methods and by extending the theoretical basis of how people acquire and use information in food domains.
The impact of the project will be at a European level and will be facilitated through the development of the FoodRisC toolkit together with practical guidance to enable the effective communication of coherent messages across the Member States. Use of the toolkit and guides will assist policy makers, food authorities and other end users in developing common approaches to communicating coherent messages to consumers across Europe.
The effective spread of food risk/benefit information will assist initiatives aimed at reducing the burden of food-related illness and disease, reducing the economic impact of food crises and ensuring that confidence in safe and nutritious food is fostered and maintained in Europe.
