Assessment of consumer food safety education provided by local authorities in the UK

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent, sources, diversity, costs, formats and content of food safety educational interventions for consumers provided by UK Local Authorities (LAs). Inadequate implementation of food safety practices in the home is known to contribute to the incidence of foodborne disease and therefore effective food safety education concerning risks and correct domestic food-handling behaviours is essential. Design/methodology/approach: A postal questionnaire was administered to all Environmental Health and Health Promotion departments in LAs in 2004 (n=436). The questionnaire assessed the extent of LA provision of consumer food safety advice, types, formats and content of interventions, rationale for information provision, methods used for design and delivery of information and participation in national initiatives. Findings: A considerable quantity of food safety advice is provided to UK consumers; in general this is variable between regions, variable in quality, infrequently evaluated and relatively uncoordinated. Overall, 95 per cent of UK LAs who responded to the questionnaire reported current provision of consumer food safety advice. The most common intervention used for provision of consumer hygiene information was leaflets (93 per cent of LAs) and data indicated that this is likely to continue. Hand-washing (87 per cent), cross-contamination (85 per cent) and cooking (77 per cent) were the most common issues reportedly addressed in hygiene initiatives. Less than a third of LAs reported evaluating the effectiveness of food hygiene advice. Originality/value: This study has provided evidence of a large quantity of unique and diverse intervention materials across the UK, and suggests the need for the sharing of information materials and areas of innovation between LAs. Provision of generic, managed and co-ordinated general and targeted food safety education resources in the UK may not only decrease important time and financial costs within LAs, but also increase consumer confidence in the accuracy of information provided and alleviate the risk for potential confusion of information from differing sources.