In the interest of food safety: a qualitative study investigating communication and trust between food regulators and food industry in the UK, Australia and New Zealand

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Alex R Pearce¹  Paul Ward²  Annabelle M Wilson²  John Coveney²  Dean McCullum³  Trevor Webb⁴  Julie Henderson⁵  Samantha B Meyer⁶  Michael Calnan⁷ 

[1] Department of Knowledge Integration, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada;Discipline of Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia;Food Safety and Nutrition Branch, SA Health, Adelaide, Australia;Food, Information, Science & Technology Branch, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Canberra, Australia;School of Nursing and Midwifery, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia;School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, N2L3G1, Waterloo, Canada;School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK;

关键词: Food industry;    Food regulation;    Food safety;    Trust;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-017-4118-x

 received in 2016-02-24, accepted in 2017-02-07,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundFood regulatory bodies play an important role in public health, and in reducing the costs of food borne illness that are absorbed by both industry and government. Regulation in the food industry involves a relationship between regulators and members of the industry, and it is imperative that these relationships are built on trust. Research has shown in a variety of contexts that businesses find the most success when there are high levels of trust between them and their key stakeholders. An evidence-based understanding of the barriers to communication and trust is imperative if we are to put forward recommendations for facilitating the (re)building of trusting and communicative relationships.MethodsWe present data from 72 interviews with regulators and industry representatives regarding their trust in and communication with one another. Interviews were conducted in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia in 2013.ResultsData identify a variety of factors that shape the dynamic and complex relationships between regulators and industry, as well as barriers to communication and trust between the two parties. Novel in our approach is our emphasis on identifying solutions to these barriers from the voices of industry and regulators.ConclusionsWe provide recommendations (e.g., development of industry advisory boards) to facilitate the (re)building of trusting and communicative relationships between the two parties.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017