Science and emotion: this is how food security is communicated
Openness, transparency, independence and timeliness: these are, according to EFSA (the European authority on food safety) the basic rules for correct information in the field of security.
Citizens have become increasingly demanding and are demanding clarity on the origins, processing and distribution of food. They discussed it, al Festival of Food Journalism, Franca Braga, responsible for food and health Altroconsumo, Silvia Gallina of the Piedmont, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta Zooprophylactic Institute, Clelia Lombardi of the food safety laboratory of the Turin Chamber of Commerce, Arnaldo Tinarelli, general affairs director Cast Soc. Coop e Pietro Noè, director Office VIII Alerts of the Ministry of Health, moderated by Mimmo Vita Union of national food journalists.
Therefore, consumer representatives, local authorities, institutions and large companies.
For Franca Braga of Altroconsumo, the association founded in Milan in the 1973 and which today has about 377 thousand members, food security is a right but also a priority for Italians. "According to Eurobarometer - he underlined - the perception of risk by the Italian consumer is very high compared to the European average, a perception increased by the fact that, very often, in Italy the big crises turn into scandali "and therefore in psychoses that affect the food market.
"To avoid alarmism, we need to circumscribe the problem and give fundamental information clearly, knowing distinguish between real and perceived risk", Concluded Braga.
Speaking of good information, Silvia Gallina of the Zooprophylactic Institute of Piedmont, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta, told how the laboratory has promoted two channels available to consumers. This is the web portal IZSalimentTO, with sections, specific cards, information, for example, on bacteria, viruses and pathogens, zones and products at risk. A section dedicated to questions and clarifications to the experts is particularly useful. The other tool developed is the Ubo app - A good opportunity, for iOs and Android devices that recommends how to reuse food or store it properly (more than 500 foods have been evaluated).
Clelia Lombardi of the food safety laboratory of the Turin Chamber of Commerce, deals, among other things, with managing information to her parents regarding the school canteens: "It is a critical area because parents are very careful and concerned about feeding their children". Lombardi underlined the difference between danger and risk: the level of severity and probability of a harmful event is very different in the two cases. And when it comes to risk, the emotional component is very strong.
Also Arnaldo Tinarelli, general affairs director of Camst Soc. Coop, agrees on the strong weight of emotion in communicating such themes. "Common sense would identify the least possible risk in home cooking as compared to large restaurants. In reality it is not always true. For example in our company, in Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta, we receive on average 1,2 claims for a foreign body in the food every million meals served. And this should make us think ". Camst is a group of 90 million meals a year.
Pietro Noè, director of the Office VIII Alert Ministry of Health, closed the debate. First as an inspector and then as a manager, Noah dealt with security and told the public at the Cavallerizza the backstage of the management of recent food emergencies and existing networks at local, national and above all Community level.
di Martina Tartaglino e Maria Teresa Giannini (Futura)
