Citizen preferences for risk communication associated with emerging food risks linked to climate change

Climate change is significantly disrupting weather patterns, resulting in negative impacts on the resilience of agrifood systems. One consequence is an increase in emerging food safety risks driven by climate change to humans, animals, and plants resulting from newly identified hazards, which requires policy action to both mitigate, and adapt to, emerging food risks. Although there is evidence that risk perception associated with novel threats may result in heightened citizen concerns, it is not known whether people’s concerns about emerging food safety hazards necessitate specific risk communication strategies. A semi-structured interview protocol was developed to understand citizen priorities for risk communication in relation to emerging food safety risks, and to understand if these differed from their preferences and priorities for communication about established risks. Twenty participants from each of the UK, France, Germany, and Hungary were recruited into the study. The results indicated that, although study participants did not distinguish emerging food safety risks specifically from existing food safety risks, they categorised systemic risks (which were potentially associated with climate change drivers) as distinct from acute risks (which had immediately impacted public health and were not categorised as systemic risks, despite the possibility of being caused by climate change). It is concluded that dedicated emerging food safety risk communication is needed to only engage citizens in developing protective behaviours in relation to emerging food safety risks. In addition, it is also relevant to both adaptive and mitigatory actions to reduce the impacts of emerging food safety risks associated with climate change.