Tag Archives: Communication

Baker makes up for cockroach loaf

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New Zealand’s biggest baking company is promising compensation to a man who found a cockroach in a loaf of bread.

The firm, Goodman Fielder promised compensation to Rob Hemming, but he heard nothing more until the Herald on Sunday got involved.

Now the company says it will send him a $60 voucher and a ham, but insists the cockroach was not baked into its bread.

Hemming discovered the insect in his bread a month ago.

"The next day I pulled it out of the fridge for breakfast and I spotted a blooming cockroach embedded in the bread."

He took the bread back to the Selwyn Heights Four Square in Rotorua, whose manager offered Hemming a replacement. But he decided to deal with the manufacturer directly.

Hemming called Goodman Fielder. A representative apologised and told him to freeze the loaf and she would post him some packaging to return it.

The first package did not turn up, and it was two weeks before the replacement arrived.

Goodman Fielder spokesman Ian Greenshields said the loaf had been examined at an independent laboratory; "Their tests showed the cockroach was not baked into the product but there was a hole in the bag and the cockroach could easily and most probably crawled into the bag," Greenshields said.

Four Square owner Amish Patel was confident the cockroach had not got into the bread at his shop.

We got ‘street cred’ say UK food safety types, like Pat Boone got rock and roll

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There’s no shortage of communication weirdness out of the U.K. Food Standards Authority – home of the ‘piping hot’ food test.

In response to the latest European food survey (which is meaningless but nevertheless found that British respondents were less worried about pesticides, food poisoning, and hormones than their European counterparts, but were most concerned about the welfare of farmed animals and the quality and freshness of food) Andrew Wadge, chief scientist at FSA, said,

“I’m delighted that we Brits keep our stiff upper lip when faced with food scares and have a positive attitude to what we eat. I think we’re right not to worry unnecessarily about food safety threats as there are lots of checks in place to keep food safe. On the other hand it’s important not to be complacent, and there are simple steps people can take to prevent food poisoning such as not eating food past its use by date, not washing poultry – as the bacteria can spread round the kitchen – and always making sure that they cook food thoroughly.”

I’m sure such words were comforting to Sharon Mills as the inquest into her 5-year-old son’s food poisoning death opens today in Newport, Wales. Stiff upper lip, mom.

Then yesterday FSA boasted – gangsta style — it had funded a cooking-challenge TV show with ‘street-cred’ to turn up the heat on food safety.

“In addition to the focus on local ingredients, the show incorporates Agency food safety messages and nutrition advice. … Short 15,10 and 5 second films that subtly convey the Food Standards Agency’s 4Cs messages on chilling, cooking, cleaning and cross-contamination are also shown at the beginning and culinary delights, combining food safety messages with an appetising menu, including local produce.”

During the cook-off, the street market chefs are each given local ingredients for use in their two courses.

I’d want to know how those local ingredients were grown – source food from safe sources is the missing tip.

FSA director of communications, Terrence Collis said,

“Street Market Chefs is not only tremendous entertainment but also pretty informative. Healthy eating and food safety advice is skilfully woven into the program so the viewer never thinks they’re being nagged or got at, while best practice is there for all to see. ‘The chefs prepare carefully balanced meals and make sure they handle, store and cook the food properly. You’ll never get undercooked chicken on Street Market Chefs.”

Will it be piping hot or verified safe with a thermometer? How does comms Terry know the show is informative and skillfully presents advice? Did he ask anyone?

FSA street cred is like saying Pat Boone was doing rock and roll by covering Tutti Frutti.

630 now sick from salmonella in hamburger, calls for improved communication

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The salmonella outbreak that has now sickened more than 630 students in Poitiers, France, has led calls for improved communication.

Centre Presse reports a meeting with different concerned parties took place in a closed session at the Prefecture. The FCPE (Federation of Boards of Parents of Students in Public Schools) and the PEEP (Parents of Students in Public Education) were invited.

The teenagers consumed hamburger patties contaminated with salmonella, produced by the Inalca company based in Italy and distributed by the Pomona company into different school cafeterias in France.

Stéphane Jarlégand, the regional Prefecture’s Chief of Staff, said yesterday, “An international investigation is underway,” and that to date, the children have all overcome this misstep and none suffered any “serious effects.”

The French seriously need to improve their communications.

Staff announced that a working group had been set up to “test new technologies able to provide rapid emergency messaging to parents.”

It’s possible that the chosen path will be an automated call broadcasting a clear message that could be sent out via SMS. The system is already in place in Vienne through the Centrale de Civaux (the nuclear plant in Vienne – a.h.) and also for floods.
 

UK food bureaucrat whines that communicating is tough

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Try harder.

Because when communicating about science with the public, the U.K. Food Standards Agency really sucks.

So when some FSA-type (right, not exactly as shown) writes,

“We pride ourselves on being a science-based organisation and on putting the consumer first, so the big question we deal with on a daily basis is: how do you maintain scientific accuracy while making the science easy for people to understand?”

I may have just thrown up a little.

This science-based organization has apparently decided – against all available scientific evidence – that the best advice for cooking whole poultry is until it is “piping hot.”

This is scientifically inaccurate, and as a lowly member of the public, I don’t know what it means.

The FSA-type further writes:

“Effective communication is about thinking how messages are received rather than how they are sent out.”

Awesome. Can you provide the research which shows actual consumer behavior interpreting the message of piping hot?

And he further writes:

“To be heard and heeded, too, our advice needs to be succinct and easy to understand but also accurate. So, over to you, how do we get the balance right?”

FSA advice to cook poultry until piping hot is inaccurate – color is a lousy indicator, a tip-sensitive thermometer is required to ensure the bird has reach an internal temperature of at least 165F or 74C, and piping hot may be meaningful in a Mary Poppin’s movie but not in a microbiologically safe kitchen. There is no balance to strive for when the information is wrong.

Get the science right, then work on the flair.
 

Heston still don’t know noro

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Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal’s latest attempt at PR salvation in this morning’s Daily Mail is another crass and superficial effort to blame others for the March 2009 norovirus outbreak that sickened 529 at The Fat Duck restaurant. Heston has a memory of convenience in yet another quest for salvation and, sympathy while pushing a new fancy restaurant and cookbook. Here’s a reminder.

“I thought my world was caving in.”

So did the 529 people barfing and confirmed as having norovirus from your Fat Duck.

“I’m just a chef who likes asking lots of questions.”

Not enough questions – like where those oysters came from, and if I’m going to use them in dishes such as jelly oyster with passion fruit and lavender, should they be cooked so people don’t barf?

“Blumenthal is still seething about the report into the incident published 12 months ago by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), which he believes maligns his £150-a-head establishment and his business methods. ‘The report insinuated things that I found very frustrating. For example, that staff were back at work while they were physically ill. Our staff training manual very clearly lays out a 48-hour return-to-work policy – you don’t come back until 48 hours after you feel better.’”

At the time of the outbreak, Blumethal reported conducting his own testing of staff and customers, and stated “so far it is categorically not food poisoning." Wrong.

Blumenthal also tried out the but-our-training-manual-says defense last year. The quotes are eerily similar to what he said in 2009. Maybe they were just lifted.

The HPA report did state ongoing transmission at the restaurant—leading to illnesses from January 6 to February 22—was thought to have occurred through continuous contamination of foods prepared in the restaurant or by person-to-person spread between staff and diners or a mixture of both. Investigators identified several weaknesses in procedures at the restaurant may have contributed to ongoing transmission including: delayed response to the incident, the use of inappropriate environmental cleaning products, and staff working when ill. Up to 16 of the restaurant’s food handlers were reportedly working with norovirus symptoms before it was voluntarily closed.

“I took the decision to close the restaurant within 24 hours, as a precautionary measure. It was a financial blow but I couldn’t consider money at the time. … I felt desperately sorry for all the people who suffered. My instincts were to contact everyone personally and apologise but I was advised against this by my lawyers, insurers and official bodies conducting investigations. It was extremely frustrating, but my hands were tied.”

Blumenthal is arguing he took a financial blow, but wouldn’t risk a financial blow and say I’m sorry, which was the decent human thing to do instead of hiding behind barristers and bureaucrats.

When Blumenthal did finally issue an apology on September 25, 2009—seven months after the outbreak was discovered and more than two weeks after the Health Protection Agency report was released—it suggested that he viewed an empathetic apology as an admission of guilt.

"I am relieved to be able to finally offer my fullest apologies to all those who were affected by the outbreak at the Fat Duck,” said Blumenthal, “It was extremely frustrating to not be allowed to personally apologise (sic) to my guests until now. It was devastating to me and my whole team, as it was to many of our guests and I wish to invite them all to return to the Fat Duck at their convenience [for a free meal]." The apology was too late and again failed to accept responsibility for the aspects of the outbreak that were under the chef’s control—namely, acquiring seafood from unsafe sources and allowing sick employees to handle food.

Television presenter Jim Rosenthal, who was sickened, called Blumenthal’s response, “pathetic.”??

“He has basically attempted to re-write the HPA report and its conclusions in his favour. It is pathetic and a complete PR disaster. There isn’t even a hint of apology.??“ At first I was extremely sympathetic to Heston Blumenthal, but the way this has been mishandled beggars belief. I could not believe what I was reading in this email – it was like we had been sent different reports. I am taking them to court and a lot of other people are too. A simple apology might have ended all this a long time ago.”

Another diner blogged, “I’m appalled because I was so entranced by Heston Blumenthal and he comes across as being very decent and clever. We had been so ill and, at the very least, we expected some kind of acknowledgment. We really thought they would be interested in what had happened to us.”

Boxing promoter Frank Warren commented, "Everything was fabulous about the evening – the food, the setting, the service, it was unbelievably good but unfortunately, afterwards, all of us were ill. … Since then we have not heard anything from the restaurant at all. I am very disappointed and I know that the people I went with are very disappointed with the feedback"

Blumenthal is now gearing up for the opening of a lavish new restaurant, Dinner, at London’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel in December. He is also working on a new, simpler cookbook, Heston At Home, which will be out in a year’s time.

Heston, you need to get a lot better at this PR thing if you expect either to sell.

My “mind went to dark places.”

We’ve all been to dark places; grow a pair and admit what went wrong rather than incessantly whining while promoting. Then maybe you’ll get some sympathy.

Crisis, what crisis? Food safety and the cycle of crisis

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Supertramp was always big in Canada. Their 1975 album, Crisis-What Crisis set the stage for the megasellers of the next few years. I didn’t really go for Supertramp, but have to admit their music holds up much better than most – Journey is so awful – over the years.

Julia Stewart of the Produce Marketing Association offers some food safety crisis communication tips in the From Field to Fork blog. It ain’t rocket surgery, but groups screw this up all the time (today I’m looking at you, egg industry; tomorrow, who knows).

Don’t stonewall

There can’t be any holes in the food safety net, folks – so large, local, conventional, organic, everyone must get on the food safety bus.

Don’t settle for status quo

Your grandfather or great-grandfather’s farming practices are no longer good enough. The modern food safety reality necessitates risk assessment and risk management, GAPs, audits, and the courage to not harvest that suspect block.

Don’t blame victims

Consumers (rightfully) expect the food industry to work hard to produce safe foods, so we shouldn’t blame them when they get sick because they didn’t treat our foods like hazardous materials.

Do consider the return on investment

A food safety program is an insurance policy. Causing a foodborne illness outbreak can literally cost you the farm. Investing in food safety can help reduce the risk.

Do have a long-term view

The food safety landscape is perpetually changing, so strive for continuous improvement.
 

Boil-water advisory in Socorro, New Mexico; bad example of clear and concise information

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I usually don’t write about boil-water advisories because they are unusually common and usually non-threatening. When people start getting sick, I get interested.

But I do have an interest in how boil-water advisories are communicated: Is the wording clear? Are the actions to be taken clearly stated? Are there graphics for those who can’t read? Is the advisory in multiple languages?

Socorro, New Mexico, home of the PhD pretty hair doctors and beauty salon (right), discovered E. coli in one of their four water wells and began distributing informational flyers. A local correspondent took a picture of the flyer and passed it along.

Rapid, reliable, repeated and relevant information can improve food safety at food service

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In Sept.. 2007, my friend Frank was running food safety things at Disney in Orlando, and asked me to visit and speak with his staff.

“Doug, I want you to talk about food safety messages that have been proven to work, that are supported by peer-reviewed evidence and lead to demonstrated behavior change,” or something like that.

I said it would be a brief talk.

There was nothing – nothing – that could be rigorously demonstrated to have changed food safety behavior in any group, positive or negative. Everything was about as effective as those, ‘Employees must wash hands’ signs.

Sometime around 2001 things started to change in my lab at the University of Guelph. I’d gotten tired of genetically engineered food, had gone about as far as we could with the fresh produce on-farm food safety thing, and I wanted to focus more on the things that made people barf.

Chapman and I were playing hockey a lot – one of the advantages of having an on-campus office right beside two full-sized ice hockey surfaces (not the miniature size available in Manhattan, Kansas) – and there was a bar and restaurant that overlooked the one ice surface where we often engaged in after-hockey food safety meetings with our industry, provincial and federal government colleagues.

We had all this food safety information, and the manager of the bar around 2003 was into food safety, so we thought, if daily sports pages are posted above urinals and on the doors of washroom stall, why not engaging food safety information?

It took us awhile to become engaging, but we listened to criticism and made things better. We experimented with different formats in restaurants and on-line. There’s an entire paper describing all this but it hasn’t been published yet (accepted, but not published).

Meanwhile, Chapman took ownership of these food safety infosheets, they got translated into different languages depending on the capabilities of whatever students were around, and we had lots of e-mails from all over the world from people who like them and use them in the workplace.

But a bunch of e-mails doesn’t count as much in the way of evidence.

So Chapman (left, with Dani, 10 years ago at my place) partnered with a food safety dude at a company in Canada and they made things happen (we are forever grateful, dude, above right, exactly as shown, and you know who you are).

Katie and Tiffany had to watch hours of video, Tanya and me helped with the design, but otherwise it was Chapman, going to these sites at 5 a.m. to make sure the cameras were set up. I went once when visiting from Kansas, but otherwise, stayed out of the way, other than years of nagging to write it up, finish his thesis, and the weekly attempts to correct his horrendous spelling and grammar on the infosheets.

But after all those years and effort, Chapman has finally shown a food safety message that can translated into better food safety practices at food service. After exposure to the food safety infosheets, cross-contamination events went down 20 per cent, and handwashing attempts went up 7 per cent. We controlled for various factors as best we could.

Since September 2006 over 150 food safety infosheets have been produced and are available to anyone at www.foodsafetyinfosheets.com. The website has had a recent redesign, adding a search function, automatic email alerts and RSS feeds. The new database is also sortable by pathogen, location and risk factor.

Now I have something to tell Frank.
 

Food safety risk communication – theory and practice

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Folks are rightly skeptical about the safety of the food supply. Outbreaks of foodborne illness are happening daily, and some of the outbreaks involve levels of deception, malfeasance and yukkiness that are criminal.

Levels of trust ain’t good.

Lynn Frewer, formerly of the U.K. and now based at Wageningen University in The Netherlands, has been doing the food safety risk communication thing for a long time and is darn good at it. Frewer and colleagues published a new paper in Food Policy last week that summarized much of the existing research and some new work to map out a strategy for those who talk about food safety in public arenas.

The results validated what a bunch of us have been saying for decades:

• understand consumer risk perceptions and information needs;
• segment and target communications;
• institutions and industry must stress risk mitigation activities, including prevention and the effectiveness of enforcement systems;
• account for cultural and at-risk populations when creating messages;
• enhance transparency by making public information about ongoing management and research activities, the processes adopted regarding establishing regulatory and resource allocation priorities, and whether rapid responses by food risk managers to mitigate food safety incidents have been made;
• consumer protection and public health must be the top priority; and,
• tell ‘em what you don’t know (I’m sure that’s a scientific term).

How are such recommendations executed, especially during an outbreak of foodborne illness, when consumers are paying attention?

Gustavo Anaya, the owner of Oregon’s Los Dos Amigos Family Mexican Restaurant, issued a written apology to its customers after 30 patrons were sickened in a Salmonella outbreak linked to the Jackson Street, Roseburg, business.

Gustavo and his son, Manny Anaya, delivered letters to media outlets in Douglas County on Friday.

“We send our sincerest apologies to the people and family members who were affected by the salmonella outbreak,” the letter stated.

Saying, I’m sorry, is not always an admission of blame. It’s also a sign of empathy, that most basic of human traits, which is crucial in building trust.

Communications alone, however, are never enough. The restaurant will have issues if it is discovered to have improperly assessed or ignored food safety risks.











Cope, S., et al. Consumer perceptions of best practice in food risk communication and management: Implications for risk analysis policy. Food Policy (2010), doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2010.04.002

 

Abstract

As a consequence of recent food safety incidents, consumer trust in European food safety management has diminished. A risk governance framework that formally institutes stakeholder (including consumer) consultation and dialogue through a transparent and accountable process has been proposed, with due emphasis on risk communication. This paper delivers actionable policy recommendations based on consumer preferences for different approaches to food risk management. These results suggest that risk communication should be informed by knowledge of consumer risk perceptions and information needs, including individual differences in consumer preferences and requirements, and differences in these relating to socio-historical context associated with regulation. In addition, information about what is being done to identify, prevent and manage food risks needs to be communicated to consumers, together with consistent messages regarding preventative programs, enforcement systems, and scientific uncertainty and variability associated with risk assessments. Cross-cultural differences in consumer perception and information preferences suggest a national or regional strategy for food risk communication may be more effective than one applied at a pan-European level.

 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VCB-502NK5Y-1&_user=10&_coverDate=05%2F13%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=126449b7903c417060e53954e450d621

Risk communication 101: talk with consumers and others, not to them

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There’s this Joint Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition at the University of Maryland where U.S. Food and Drug Admin. types go to be trained in all matters related to food risk.

A few years ago, I shook hands with one of the directors and said, sure, I’ll help you out on risk communication stuff, cause he said they sorta sucked at it.

I never heard back, despite several e-mails.

And they still suck at it.

JIFSAN’s spring symposium is, Risk Communication – Communicating Science to the Public.

Risk communication 101: talk with people, not to them. If any of you had kids you would know this.