Handbook of Hygiene Control in the Food Industry

Therehas beenmuchrecentdiscussion aboutat whatpointin the foodchain
these foodsafetyobjectivesshouldbe set, and whether theseshould be bench-
marked at the pointof sale of foodproducts, or at the pointof consumption.
Fromthe perspective of publichealth,it is far moreuseful to set foodsafety
objectivesat the pointof consumption, as the least controllable part of the food
chain is withinthe domestic environment. However,publichealthis ultimately
contingenton the adoptedsafetylevel of foodpreparation practicesby the
consumer. The settingof foodsafetyobjectivesat the pointof consumption has
currentlybeenagreedby a recentmeetingof the CodexAlimentarius(Codex
Committee on General Principles, 2004). Thisimplies that moreeffective
informationprovisionmustbe developed to optimise domestic hygienepractices
relevant to foodpreparation.
Thusit is importantto conductresearchin order to understandany potential
barriers to the adoptionof healthyfoodhygienepracticesby consumers,and to
applythis understandingto the implementationof effectiveinterventionstrategies
specificallyfocusingon influencing consumerbehaviour. To this end, it is
essentialthat an understandingof consumerrisk perceptionsassociatedwithfood
safety be developed,and linked to actualconsumerbehaviourswhenpreparing
food. It is also importantto understandindividualdifferencesin perceptionsand
behaviours,as somegroupsof the populationmaytake greaterrisksthanothers.
Thismaybe particularlyproblematicwhenconsideringrisk vulnerability,where
some groupsin the populationmaybe moreat risk thanothers.
Thischapteraimsto brieflysummarisewhatis known aboutconsumerrisk
perceptions, and apply this to understanding why consumers undertake
potentiallyriskybehaviours. For a more extensivereviewof the literaturein
this area, the readeris referredto Hansenet al.(2003). The issueof individual
perceptionsand behaviours will also be addressed.Existingresearchexamining
consumers and domestic food hygiene practices will be examined, and
recommendationsfor future researchidentified.Finally, risk communication
insights regarding the development and implementation of best practice
regardinginformation interventionswill be provided.

6.2 Riskperceptionsof consumersare not the sameas

technical riskassessments

Individualresponsesto risksare drivenby perceptions or beliefsaboutrisks,and

these mayapparentlybearlittlerelationshipto technical risk estimates.Indeed,

consumer responsesto different hazards cannotbe understoodin isolation of the

widercontext in whichdifferenthazardsare embedded. A goodstartingpoint

for understandingconsumerrisk perception is providedby the psychometric

paradigmdeveloped by PaulSlovic and his co-workers(see for example,

Fischhoffet al., 1978).Researchwithinthe psychometricparadigmhas indi-

cated thatpsychologicalfactors determineindividual responsesto different

risks.These include, for example, whether the risk is perceivedby individualsto

104 Handbookof hygiene controlin the foodindustry