Food Systems, Communications, and Consumer Economics and Public Policy Unit

Professors-in-charge: Drs. Helen Jensen, Alan Marcus, Lulu Rodriguez and Stephen Sapp

Most foodborne illnesses occur due to human errors and gaps in the public health system. Research, teaching, and extension programs are necessary to address these sources of food safety risks. Such programs are needed even more with increased concerns about the vulnerability of our food system to biosecurity failures. Programs are required to assess the potential for new regulations or technologies, consumers' willingness to pay for new regulations and technologies, and the social-economic impacts of existing and potential public policies and technologies. Food safety issues receive sporadic mass media attention and this limited coverage can become sensationalist, which instills uncertainty and doubt in the general public. And, to some extent, food safety policy is influenced disproportionately by those with access to the mass media. Improved food safety communication is critical in facilitating science-based food safety policies. Understanding the history of food safety programs and the political pressures and incentives faced by public officials who implement them facilitates well-informed innovations in food safety public policy and technology.

The Food Systems, Communication, Consumer Economics and Public Policy Unit coordinates research, teaching, and outreach efforts of faculty in the Departments of Economics, History, Political Science, and Sociology and the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communications to monitor and evaluate public awareness and implementation of safe food-handling practices, provide rapid access to food safety information, develop effective outreach programs, identify and evaluate effective regulatory and public policy approaches, and develop communication protocols to help sustain public confidence in the food safety system. The Unit prepares undergraduate and graduate students to be food safety/security scholars and/or policy analysts who can staff/consult with agencies charged with developing regulatory policies related to food safety and homeland food security.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 76 million people suffer from foodborne illnesses annually, resulting in 5,200 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations. To address this social problem, research, teaching, and outreach activities are needed to:

• Improve public awareness of issues related to food safety and homeland food security,
• Help food handlers and consumers of all ages understand food safety risks and motivate them to protect their health and the health of others,
• Better understand and appreciate consumer perceptions, and
• Assist the public sector in making wise and respectful decisions about food safety technologies and regulations.

Government and public health agencies monitoring food safety must be prepared for rapid responses to foodborne illness outbreaks and threats to homeland food security. To accomplish this they:

• Provide public and private decision-makers with timely analyses of proposed food safety interventions, including assessments of cost-of-illness and willingness-to-pay for food safety programs,
• Provide public health agencies with better information on public knowledge of and trust in their roles and responsibilities,
• Assess consumer knowledge of what procedures to follow if they suspect a case of food-borne illness or bioterrorism,
• Provide regulators with improved information on the effectiveness of incentives to improve food safety,
• Develop protocols to inform consumers about the nation's food safety net, and
• Assist public health agencies in communicating with the public in a manner that relates important information, maintains social order, and instills confidence in public health agencies.

The Food Systems, Communication, Consumer Economics and Public Policy Unit coordinates research, teaching, and outreach in the social sciences and humanities to address critical needs regarding public confidence in the food safety system, public inputs into policy formation, and timely evaluations of the social, economic, and political implications of food safety policies.

Affiliated faculty and their areas of research/expertise are listed below.