4-2 |
Strengthening Caribbean food safety: The role of consumers |
J. C. JACKSON1, A. J. Morris2, F. J. Henry2, E. P. Copeland2, and P. Johnson2. (1) National Food Technology Research Centre, Private Bag 008, Kanye, Botswana, (2) Caribbean Food & Nutrition Institute, Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Univ. of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica Despite substantial progress in the knowledge and application of food safety techniques, contaminated food is the direct cause of a high proportion of disease and therefore a major contributor to economic losses, particularly for developing countries, such as the Caribbean. Research in a number of countries has shown that improper food safety knowledge and practices at home causes a vast majority of all food borne illnesses, because consumers are unaware or misinformed about how they can protect themselves. This study was conducted to measure consumers’ knowledge, risk perception and practices of food safety in the Caribbean. A survey was conducted of 3,289 randomly selected adult householders with responsibility for food preparation in the home, in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize and Barbados. Consumers were assessed on their knowledge about correct food safety practices, their perceptions of risk as it pertains to food, awareness of foodborne illnesses, and how they and others are affected, and their current sources of food safety information. The findings corroborated those in other countries. Although consumers were aware of correct food safety practices, many still did not attribute certain illnesses to being foodborne and that it was possibly due to their own actions. As in other consumer food safety studies, meat and poultry was identified as the most likely to cause illness. Of all the food safety risks perceived, consumers rated pesticide residues as the highest; most were unaware of GMO’s as a potential risk. Overall, consumers felt that they needed to have more information on food safety, preferably through education programs on radio or television. This is the first comprehensive consumer food safety study in the Caribbean and is expected to guide the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in their development of a CARICOM Food Safety Initiative.
Session 4, Critical issues in the Caribbean food industry
|