How can we Make Food Risk Communication Better: Where are we and Where are we Going?

Over the past number of years the reporting of food scares, particularly in European context, have grown in prevalence. These scares are more often than not amplified by the media leading to greater pressure on regulators, industry and other stakeholders to communicate the actual risks associated with the food issue in question accurately. The aims of this paper is three fold: firstly, provide a brief background on the history of risk communication itself. Secondly, to summarise some of the main theoretical avenues that are presently favoured by the wider academic (risk) community. The final section of the paper provides research ideas regarding what academics working in the food risk communication area may wish to look at now. Among the issues highlighted include addressing the issue of media amplification, rebuilding public trust, and better communicating uncertainty.