Food, Science and Society

There is widespread concern amongst consumers about the safety and acceptability of food, and there are clearly communication gaps between consumers, many food professionals and food industry. This book offers accounts of the two-way nature of this difficult communication process and steps that can be made to bridge these communication gaps in a variety of social and cultural environments. Individual chapters of the book analyze the roles of science, culture, and risk perception, and of mass media and attitudes towards eating. An additional section describes the interface between scientists and lay people with regard to policy-making and agricultural practice.

From the reviews: "The book falls into three sections; attitudes to science, culture and risk perceptions about food; role of the mass media in dealing with the perception of risk in the food supply, including a case study; and lastly, case studies of interactions between scientists and lay people in policy, agriculture and awareness. ... It is useful for food science lecture material as it contains many quotes and anecdotes." (Dr Dave Roberts, Food Australia, Vol. 56 (1-2), 2004) "The widespread concern among consumers about the safety and acceptability of food is well-known. ... The food scientists must re-examine their position and the limitations to a purely technical approach to these issues. ... This publication is recommended to all interested experts in academia, authorities and industry, because all the contributing authors have not only considered the different aspects theoretically, but also practically and smoothly." (Advances in Food Sciences, Vol. 25 (2), 2003)