We Can Do Better to Communicate Food Safety

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Is consumer trust in food safety eroding? And if so, what can retailers do to build, or rebuild that trust?

November 14, 2024

sandwich_380x254.jpgA recent Gallup poll suggests there has been a downward trend in consumer trust concerning food safety. Dr. Ben Chapman, a food safety specialist from North Carolina State University, pointed out that this decline is occurring despite efforts to enhance food safety protocols in this week’s episode of Convenience Matters.

“I’ve been involved as an academic in the food safety space for the last two decades, and the focus of the industry and regulators around food safety has gone drastically up,” said Chapman, adding that he believes there is a dichotomy related to the public view around food safety and trust. 

“One of the reasons why we're hearing more about food safety issues, whether it's recalls or foodborne outbreaks, is because we're actually drastically better at finding them than we were a decade ago,” he said, adding, “We are in a situation where the world of food safety on the front page because we're identifying things better.”

Communication is Key

Chapman stressed the importance of improving communication strategies around food safety by engaging more in two-way dialogue over traditional one-way communication methods, such as a press releases.

“We can always be doing better and improving,” he said, adding that engaging with consumers can help build trust.

“There is back and forth dialogue around quality and the promotion of products that are positive things, but sometimes around food safety we get sensitive and don't want to engage in a dialogue,” Chapman said.

He suggested that retailers should take time to better understand where consumers are coming from, share information openly and respond to concerns, “whether they're rational or not.”

Social media, whether it's Instagram, TikTok or Facebook—creates an opportunity for greater consumer interaction around food safety. “I would say that consumers are thirsting for that,” he said.

The Role of Humor

Chapman cohosts the “Risky or Not” podcast with Dr. Don Schaffner, extension specialist in food science at Rutgers University, that brings levity to topics around food safety. There are close to 700 episodes and all are around 10 minutes. In a recent episode, they discussed what the risks could be from eating an egg fried on Astroturf.

“That [question] came to us from a listener, a seven-year-old boy who watched the local news in Arizona and they said, ‘Your Astroturf is going to be 130 degrees—it's so hot you can fry an egg on it,’” shared Chapman, adding that it may not be risky for microbiological reasons but for toxicology reasons—as in the potential to consume melting plastic.

There are opportunities where it's OK to inject storytelling and humor around food safety. However, never lose sight of the seriousness—the CDC estimates 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases each year in the United States.

“I know from so many great members that you have at NACS and that I've interacted with over the years, that [food safety] is really serious in those companies,” said Chapman, who a frequent speaker at the NACS Food Safety Forum.

Hear more insights from Chapman in this week’s episode, “Building Trust in Your Foodservice Program.” You can also listen to new episodes of his “Risky or Not” podcast several times a week.