Effective Risk Communication - (Food Microbiology and Food Safety) by Timothy L Sellnow & Robert R Ulmer & Matthew W Seeger & Robert Littlefield

About the Book

Written for those charged with delivering risk messages to the public, this book constructs a communication-based approach to the subject. It establishes a message-centered focus and uses a best-practice approach as a grounded theory for process improvement.

Book Synopsis

Coordination of risk assessments and risk communication strategies requires information sharing and establishing networks of working relationships between groups and agencies. Establishing these relationships necessitates overcoming - stitutional, cultural, and political boundaries. Signi?cant barriers exist between r- ulatory agencies and industry groups. Traditionally, these groups have mistrusted one another, and cooperation and collaboration, including sharing information, c- respondingly has been limited. The adoption of radio frequency identi?cation te- nology for tracking livestock, for example, has been met with signi?cant resistance due in part to mistrust between regulatory agencies and producers (Veil, 2006). In the food industry, the need for coordination has been enhanced by industry in- gration and globalization of both markets and production. In the case of GM foods discussed earlier, disagreements between U. S., European Union, and Canadian r- ulatory agencies fueled the debate over the safety of GM crops. Overcoming institutional and cultural barriers, and mistrust is necessary to create consistency in risk messages. Open communication and information sharing can help clarify where risk perceptions diverge and identify points of convergence. The outcome may not be universal agreement about risks, but convergence around the general parameters of risk. Summary These best practice strategies of risk communication are not designed to function as distinct steps or isolated approaches. Rather than being mutually exclusive, they serve to complement one another and create a coherent approach to confronting risk communication problems.

From the Back Cover

"As we face the threats and concerns posed by terrorism in a post 9/11 world, risk communication is becoming much more important as an intervention and mitigation strategy. Risk communication is now something that governments, the private sector and other stakeholders need to think about before, during and after a natural or intentional catastrophic event. While intentional contamination of the food supply to cause harm represents some unique challenges due to the personal nature of the threat, the concepts and examples covered in this book extend across potential events to provide a framework for how to begin thinking about the expanded importance of risk communication."
Shaun Kennedy, Director, National Center for Food Protection and Defense

The overlying purpose of this book is to construct a communication based approach to risk communication. In doing so, this book establishes a message-centered focus to risk communication. Section one of the book establishes definitions and parameters of risk communication, identifies the complex audience expectations for risk messages, and introduces a model of best practices for effective risk communication. In section two, the best practices are applied in four robust case studies. Section three includes chapters devoted to developing a mindful approach to risk communication, ethical considerations of risk communication, and a final chapter that discusses future developments of risk communication.

This book is written for practitioners who are charged with creating and delivering risk messages to the general public; instructors who teach the following courses: Food Safety, Public Health, Health Communication, Risk Communication, Political Communication, Emergency Management; and also scholars who write in the areas of risk and crisis communication.

About the Author

Timothy L. Sellnow is a Professor Risk Communication in the Department of Communication at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

Robert R. Ulmer is a Professor of Communication and Chair in the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Arkansas--Little Rock, Little Rock, Arkansas.

Matthew Seeger is a Professor of Communication and Chair in the Department of Communication at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.

Robert S. Littlefield is a Professor Communication in he Department of Communication at North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota.