On May 29, 2013, the Food Safety Department of the Ministry of Agriculture organized a conference “Communication and Risk Perception in Food Safety.” The event, sponsored by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), took place in the Czech Parliament. Petr Bendl, The Czech Minister of
Agriculture, opened the conference with a statement that “When informing the public about food safety, timeliness and openness are keys to allaying consumer fears.”Ten speakers from various fields and EU member states discussed the effectiveness of risk communication employed during recent European food safety scandals. They also discussed other food and feed contaminants (e.g. dioxins) and measures taken to mitigate their impact. A separate session was dedicated to possible risks connected to alcohol.
Speakers forming the first block were Laura Smillie from EFSA, Prof. Andreas Hensel from The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Denisa Kasl Kollmannova from the Charles University's Faculty of Social Sciences in Prague and Vladimir Valenta, Chief Hygienist of the Czech Republic.
When addressing risk communication conducted in Europe during recent food safety scandals, they all agreed one point: there is a room for improvement. Consumers are not always clear on where to seek relevant information. One trustworthy and credible authority, an independent organization, should be clearly identified. It should use an efficient two-way communication through appropriate channels, including modern media and social networking.
