Purpose: This observation led the French Directorate General for Food to make a formal request to the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) with the aim of making a substantiated choice from among all the communication strategies to be implemented, in relation to certain food risks and also potential constraints for the sectors in question.
Methods: The scientific expertise was conducted by a multidisciplinary working group including experts in social sciences, biological hazards and risk assessment.
Results: The preliminary work (Opinion of 9 May 2014) helped to identify hazard/food combinations for which a change in consumer practices could result in risk reduction. An inventory of conceivable communication strategies was also conducted. The second report, released in October 2015, deals with the effectiveness of communication strategies for preventing food microbiological risks, focusing on: the identification of the determinants of food handling behaviors (proposition of health behavior model); the literature review on the effectiveness of various communication strategies (communication campaign, labeling, communication via health professionals, nudges, educative programs); the choice of the targeted population (general or specified population) and the practices, attitudes and characteristics of 3 specific populations (pregnant women, elderly, parents of young children); and the health impact and cost-effectiveness of communication campaigns on microbial food safety (3 cases studies: VTEC/minced meat, Listeria monocytogenes/RTE food, Campylobacter/Poultry meat).
Significance: The work led to prioritize communication strategies in the area of prevention of food microbiological risks, taking into account the targeted populations, the complexity of the message and the cost-effectiveness of the campaign.