JAN-MAR 2019
FOCUS ON RISK COMMUNICATION
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Seminar on Food Safety Risk Communication
April 2, 2019, Bangkok, Thailand
Recent food safety issues have resulted in adverse impacts on consumer confidence in the safety of agri-food production, and the food supply chain. The increasing use of the internet and social media has led to rising demands from the public for greater transparency in the sharing and communication of information on food safety risks.
Risk communication is a very important component in the food safety risk analysis framework. The goals of risk communication are to inform the public about the associated hazards or risks and what is being done for the mitigation of these.
This half-day seminar, organized by ILSI SEA Region and ILSI SEA Region Thailand Country Committee aims to provide a better understanding of food safety risk communication, shares about the key considerations and approaches in risk communication and provide an opportunity for the participants to learn from the food safety experts within the region, as well as the other regions.
This seminar is open for registration now. For registration and more details, please click HERE.
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ASEAN Regional Workshop on Food Safety Risk Communication
(By Invitation Only)
April 2-3, 2019, Bangkok, Thailand
The main objective of food safety risk communication is to increase understanding among various stakeholders regarding the rationale behind the decisions taken to assess hazards, manage food safety risks, and to help people make more informed judgments about food safety hazards and risks. Therefore, developing an effective risk communication framework is not solely based on science, but also involves consumer behavior, risk perception, the relationship between consumers and risk communicators, as well as regulatory strategies on food safety.
This 1.5-day workshop, organized by ILSI SEA Region and ILSI SEA Region Thailand Country Committee, with the support from ASEAN Prepared Foodstuff Products Working Group (PFPWG), aims to provide a better understanding of food safety risk communication, discuss developing an effective risk communication frameworks, managing media, stakeholder management, and learn from the risk communication experience within the region. There will be a role-play session for the participants to practice handling communication in some scenarios, under the facilitation of the experts.
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Moving from Risk Communication to Food Information Communication and Consumer Engagement
Published in Nature Science of Food in 2018, the paper elaborated the authors' perspectives on several important factors in food science communication, for instance, consumer perception of risk, reliance on risk communication to reassure the public, risk communication in crisis situations, the role of social media and communication expertise, etc. Moving from the main focus on "risk communication" to a broader "food information communication" strategy might create more positive messages. The main aims of food information communication are to foster trust among stakeholders, rebuild consumer confidence, put issues into perspective and inform the public about benefits as well as risks. Genuine consumer concerns must be addressed, to prevent misperceptions and correct misinformation. This paper also highlighted that the digital revolution should be seen as an opportunity, rather than a threat as the power of the social media had been well demonstrated in some of the previous incidents. Please click HERE to access the publication.
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Extrapolating Understanding of Food Risk Perceptions to Emerging Food Safety Cases
Risk perceptions are associated with whether the potential hazards are perceived as of technological or naturally occurring origins. This review paper was published in the Journal of Risk Research. Based on the analysis, potential hazards of technological origin are viewed as more contentious than the natural occurring risks. The available evidence suggested that consumer acceptance is lower when the potential hazards are perceived to have ethical or moral related concerns, for instance, the application of genetic modification technology in food production. Hazards of technical origin are seen as more controversial than the 'objective' hazards like health risks. Thus, the authors underlined the importance of building trust in stakeholders by suggesting transparent and honest risk-benefit communications following the occurrence of food safety incidents. For more details on this paper, please see HERE.
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Malaspina International Scholars Travel Award
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The Malaspina International Scholars Travel Award is granted to exceptional early career scientists to help foster professional growth and development. The award is named after Dr. Alex Malaspina, ILSI’s first President.
For the 2019 award, six outstanding scientists were recognized. Two awardees, Assistant Professor Dunyaporn Trachootham from Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, Thailand and Associate Professor Barakatun Nisak Mohd Yusof, Universiti Putra Malaysia, were nominated by ILSI SEA Region!
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Assistant Professor Dunyaporn Trachootham from Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, Thailand collaborated with multi-disciplinary teams to research on advancements in the development of functional and medical foods. She specialized in the safety, pharmacokinetic and efficacy of functional food ingredients such as phytochemicals and probiotics. In a project supported by the Dental Innovation Foundation under royal patronage, His Majesty the King's Dental Service Unit, she developed Nutri-jelly, which is a novel edible nutritious gel for elderly people with chewing and swallowing problems. The product was subsequently presented to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, received approval from the Food and Drug Administration and distributed to more than 20,000 patients throughout Thailand through a charity scheme.
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As an Associate Professor at the Universiti Putra Malaysia, Prof. Barakatun Nisak Mohd Yusof's primary research interests lie in understanding the integrative approaches between basic science and applied research in developing the best model of nutrition therapy for prevention and management of diabetes. Generally, her research aims to improve metabolic control and quality of life in those with type 2 diabetes, women with gestational diabetes and obese individuals. Towards this overarching aim, various interventions were implemented including medical nutrition therapy, low glycemic index diet and the use of adjuvant therapy such as probiotics and herbs resulting in an improvement in some parameters of diabetes control. During her postdoctoral training at the Joslin Diabetes Centre under the mentorship of Dr. Osama Hamdy, she had also published various articles including the Ramadan Nutrition Plan for Diabetes organized by the International Diabetes Federation.
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ILSI SEA Region would like to congratulate all six awardees! Well done!
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ILSI SEA REGION'S UPCOMING EVENTS
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March 19-21, 2019
Workshop for the World Bank Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP) Food Chemical Risk Assessment Training Program
(By invitation only)
Singapore
April 2, 2019
Seminar on Food Safety Risk Communication
Bangkok, Thailand
Registration open! Click here: http://ilsisea-region.org
April 2-3, 2019
ASEAN Regional Workshop on Food Safety Risk Communication
(By invitation only)
Bangkok, Thailand
April 23, 2019
ILSI SEA Region Science Symposium on Smart Eating
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Registration open! Click here: http://ilsisea-region.org
April 24-25, 2019
ILSI SEA Region Annual Meeting 2019
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
May 14-15, 2019
Conference on Human Variability in Food and Nutrition: The Challenges and Opportunities for Industry and Academic Research
Sydney, Australia
Registration open! Click here: http://ilsisea-region.org
May 17, 2019
Symposium on Human Variability & Personalized Nutrition: Research for Public Health Benefits and Implications on Food Opportunities
Singapore
Registration open! Click here: http://ilsisea-region.org
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2nd / 3rd Quarter 2019
Regional Symposium & Workshop on Food Composition & Nutrient Intake in ASEAN
TBC
August 4-7, 2019
ILSI SEA Region Sponsored Session @ ACN 2019
Bali, Indonesia
August 2019
Seminar on Safety Assessment of GM Products
(By invitation only)
Singapore and Malaysia
September 24-25, 2019
Symposium on Scientific Development of Food Packaging: Safety, Innovation, and Sustainability
Penang, Malaysia
September 26-27, 2019
11th ILSI BeSeTo Meeting
(By invitation only)
Penang, Malaysia
October 31, 2019
Conference on Whole Genome Sequencing
Auckland, New Zealand
4th Quarter 2019
Seminar on Micronutrient Fortification
TBC
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