This programme of research is in recognition of the fact that food safety knowledge and intention and perceptions do not necessarily transfer into good food safety behaviour.  It is hoped that the results of the research will provide safefood with the tools to tackle difficult lifestyle issues and persistent food safety public health concerns.  Our research projects in this area are listed below.
 

Systematic review of the effectiveness of social marketing models in communicating nutrition and food safety messages (2004-2005)

Project Code: 03-RESR-017

A rigorous systematic review of the literature in relation to models of social marketing will be carried out, examining both national and international research and critically evaluating best models for communication of nutrition and food safety messages. The key objectives of this project are to identify the most effective methods in terms of positive impact on knowledge, perception and behaviour, and to make recommendations for further research based on the material reviewed.
 
 

All-island learning from the "Decent Food for All" programme (2003-2006)

Project Code: 03-RESR-04

The 'Decent Food for All' (DFfA) programme aims to tackle poverty by increasing food awareness and improving physical and financial access to safe healthy food. It incorporates community education, healthy lifestyle choices, regeneration of local communities and markets, and sustainability. The objectives of this research project are to assess the impact of a current DFfA programme in Armagh and Dungannon Health Action Zone with a focus on all-island learning, to identify how community-based strategies could support safefood's all-island communication and marketing campaigns on food safety and hygiene issues, and to examine how the DFfA programme, or similar community-based strategies, could be applied across Northern Ireland and the whole island of Ireland.
 
Co-ordinating researcher:
Dr Kevin Balanda

Collaborating researchers:
Ms Jorun Rugkasa

Communicating the healthy eating message: Use of an interactive multi-media CD-ROM for the prevention of obesity in 8-9 year old children (2003-2005)

Project Code: 02-RESR-009

There is an urgent need to develop novel, effective, positive and personally relevant communication strategies to improve dietary habits in childhood when individual attitudes towards food are being formed. The overall aim of the study is to design, develop, pilot test and evaluate a multimedia CD-ROM for communicating healthy eating messages to 8-9 year old children. The approaches used to develop the CD-ROM will be based on the teaching practices of social learning theory, which combines increased knowledge about food and nutrition with other spheres of influence such as the environment, personal attributes, behavioural skills and experience.
 
Co-ordinating researcher: Prof Barbara Livingstone

Collaborating researchers:
Prof Anne Moran

Project Code: 02-RESR-03

Young people (13-16 year olds) are of particular importance for achieving large scale changes in behaviour and attitudes towards food hazards and nutrition as they are agents for change in their households as well as being the next generation of adult consumers. The main objectives of this project are to assess the extent to which 13-16 year olds understand the nature and range of key food related hazards, and to identify any significant gaps in their basic knowledge of these hazards.  Relationships between perceptions, intentions, and behaviour will be investigated together with the key sources of influence on their perceptions of food risk.
 
Co-ordinating researcher: Dr Karen Trew

Collaborating researchers:
Dr Margaret Barry
Prof Glynnis Breakwell
Dr Orla Muldoon

Food Poverty in Northern Ireland (2004-2007)

Project Code: 04-RESR-01

There is a growing awareness of food and nutrition as determinants of short and long term public health. The quality and quantity of food intake is a contributory factor in the main causes of morbidity and mortality. Poverty, of which food insecurity is a key component, compromises an individual’s ability to acquire and adequate and nutritious diet. Barriers to dietary improvement are diverse ranging from issues surrounding affordability access and psychosocial factors.  The project aims to determine the nature and extent of food poverty in Northern Ireland with a view to developing policies and practical initiatives to tackle the issue and increase awareness of the importance of food and nutrition from a low-income perspective. It is hoped that this project will heighten awareness at both strategic and operational level of the issue of food poverty and the implications for public health. This work will also assist in informing other key policy areas which safefood is currently engaged in, such as the development of an all island Food and Nutrition forum and the Working Group on Food and Nutrition Strategy.
 
Co-ordinating researcher: Dr Gary McFarlane

Collaborating researchers:
Ms Jorun Rugkasa
Dr Harold Harvey

Food safety challenges in Irish consumer refrigeration systems (2001-2004)

Project Code: 00-RESR-102

This project, involves a survey of the incidence of a range of significant food poisoning bacteria, including Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Listeria spp., Aeromonas spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in domestic refrigerators in households throughout Ireland.  It also incorporated a survey by questionnaire of consumer food safety practices and knowledge.  The results of this project are being used to enhance safefood communication in terms of support of our new advertising campaign on fridge hygiene.
 
Co-ordinating researcher: Dr Declan Bolton

Food safety education: a cross-border, comparative study of food risk perception in post-primary schools and the development of a model for implementing effective curricular change (2003-2006)

Project Code: 03-PG-15

Young people's food risk perceptions are of interest to educators, health promoters, food policy makers and the food industry because they will be the consumers of tomorrow. This project will seek to examine, qualitatively and quantitatively, how food risk perceptions in young people might differ from those of the 'stakeholders' in order to identify information needs. The ultimate aim of the project will be to develop a model of food safety perceptions and information needs with a view to curricular change and management informed by a range of opinion, including young people themselves.
 
Co-ordinating researcher: Dr Michael Strain

Collaborating researchers:
Mrs Dorothy Black
Dr Barbara Stewart-Knox

Novel strategies for food risk communication (2003-2006)

Project Code: 02-RESR-018

The principal aim of this project is to develop new strategies for food risk communication by conducting an in-depth analysis of consumer understanding of scientific messages related to a variety of food risk issues, examining the potential barriers to effective risk communication and assessing differences in understanding within and between the various demographic groups in our society.  This project will specifically aim to target social need in terms of addressing the needs of vulnerable groups such as low-income sectors of the population.
 
Co-ordinating researcher: Dr Mary McCarthy

Collaborating researchers:
Ms Mary Brennan
Professor Alan Kelly
Prof Christopher Ritson

The development of a risk communication model based upon food safety behaviours in the home to facilitate adoption of best practice in disseminating information with a food risk component. (2002-2005)

Project Code: 01-RESR-043

The primary aim of this project is to map the factors influencing food safety behaviour in the home and thereby predict consumer responses to food risk communications. The project will involve the production of a food diary by primary school children in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in order to collect descriptive accounts of 'normal' food safety practices within the home environment.  Subsequently, a novel multimedia approach will be developed and used to assess the ability of consumers to cognitively recognise food risk, thereby indicating their likely behaviour in the home. The project will result in production of a risk communication model and best practice guidelines for risk communication messages.
 
Co-ordinating researcher: Dr Roy Nelson

Collaborating researchers:
Dr David McCleery
Prof James Phelan