Fischer Arnout R H, de Jong Aarieke E I, de Jonge Rob, Frewer Lynn J, Nauta Maarten J
Social Sciences Group, Marketing and Consumer Behaviour Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Risk Anal. 2005 Jun;25(3):503-17. doi: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2005.00618.x.
Microbial food safety has been the focus of research across various disciplines within the risk analysis community. Natural scientists involved in food microbiology and related disciplines work on the identification of health hazards, and the detection of pathogenic microorganisms. To perform risk assessment, research activities are increasingly focused on the quantification of microbial contamination of food products at various stages in the food chain, and modeling the impact of this contamination on human health. Social scientists conduct research into how consumers perceive food risks, and how best to develop effective risk communication with consumers in order to improve public health through improved food handling practices. The two approaches converge at the end of the food chain, where the activities regarding food preparation and food consumption are considered. Both natural and social sciences may benefit from input and expertise from the perspective of the alternative discipline, although, to date, the integration of social and natural sciences has been somewhat limited. This article therefore explores the potential of a transdisciplinary approach to food risk analysis in terms of delivering additional improvements to public health. Developing knowledge arising from research in both the natural and social sciences, we present a novel framework involving the integration of the two approaches that might provide the most effective way to improve the consumer health associated with food-borne illness.
微生物食品安全一直是风险分析领域各学科研究的重点。从事食品微生物学及相关学科研究的自然科学家致力于识别健康危害以及检测致病微生物。为了进行风险评估，研究活动越来越多地集中在量化食品链各阶段食品的微生物污染情况，以及模拟这种污染对人类健康的影响。社会科学家则研究消费者如何看待食品风险，以及如何最好地与消费者开展有效的风险沟通，以便通过改进食品处理方式来改善公众健康。这两种方法在食物链末端交汇，即考虑食品制备和食品消费活动的地方。自然科学和社会科学都可能从另一学科的视角所提供的信息和专业知识中受益，不过，迄今为止，社会科学与自然科学的整合程度还较为有限。因此，本文探讨跨学科方法在食品风险分析方面的潜力，以期为公众健康带来更多改善。通过发展自然科学和社会科学研究产生的知识，我们提出了一个将两种方法整合在一起的新框架，这可能是改善与食源性疾病相关的消费者健康的最有效方式。
