Food Risks on the Web: Analysis of the 2017 Fipronil Alert in the Italian Online Information Sources

Ruzza, Mirko; Tiozzo, Barbara; Rizzoli, Valentina; Giaretta, Mosè; D'Este, Laura; Ravarotto, Licia

doi:10.1111/risa.13533

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 67 publications

(84 reference statements)

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“…This content enters the national sources agenda when factors such as a high number of people concerned and the presence of victims or the unknown/new nature of the risk intervene to increase the newsworthiness of the event. This mechanism actually characterizes the macrocategory "media cases" and its related in-depth categories such as the "fipronil alert" [49]. This finding reinforces the role of external factors in influencing the newsworthiness and the coverage of risks, notwithstanding the characteristics of the hazards themselves.…”

Section: Rq2: Which Food Risk Topics Have Received Major Attention In Terms Of Coverage and Engagement On Social Media?supporting

confidence: 61%

“…That is, the attention given by the monitored sources to such topics was rather stable across time, and these topics equally contributed to shaping the source agenda in the reference period. The only sharp increase in coverage was registered during August 2017, which corresponds to the fipronil alert that catalyzed the increased attention of the monitored sources [49], corresponding to a decrease in the coverage of the other major topics. Regarding engagement on social media (Figure 6), the greatest number of interactions (n=398,532) was recorded in November 2017 by a unique content item of the in-depth category "animal welfare" related to a petition promoted through the online portal change.org to support the closure of intensive farming.…”

Section: Xsl • Fomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biological, Chemical, and Nutritional Food Risks and Food Safety Issues From Italian Online Information Sources: Web Monitoring, Content Analysis, and Data Visualization (Preprint)

Tiozzo¹,

Ruzza²,

Rizzoli³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BACKGROUND With rapid evolution of the internet and web 2.0 apps, online sources have become one of the main channels for most people to seek food risk information. Thus, it would be compelling to analyze the coverage of online information sources related to biological, chemical, and nutritional food risks, and related safety issues, to understand the type of content that online readers are exposed to, possibly influencing their perceptions. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify the types of online sources that are predominantly covering this theme, and the topics that have received the most attention in terms of coverage and engagement on social media. METHODS We performed an analysis of big data related to food risks by combining web monitoring techniques, content analysis, and data visualization of a large amount of unstructured text. Using a dictionary-based approach, a web monitoring app was instructed to automatically collect web content referring to the food risk and safety field. Data were retrieved from March 2017 to February 2018. The validated corpus (N=12,163) was subject to automatic and manual content analysis. Results were combined with descriptive statistics extracted from Web-Live and processed with Qlik Sense. RESULTS Nutritional risks and news about outbreaks, controls, and alerts were the most widely covered topics. Thematic sources devoted major attention to nutritional topics, whereas national sources covered food risks, especially during food emergencies. Regarding engagement on social media, readers’ interest was higher for nutritional topics and animal welfare. Although traditional sources still publish a great amount of content related to food risks and safety, new mediators have emerged as alternative sources for food risk information. CONCLUSIONS This mixed methodological approach was demonstrated to be a useful means for obtaining an accurate characterization of the online discourse on food risks, and can provide insight into how the monitored sources contribute to the process of risk communication.

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Section: Rq2: Which Food Risk Topics Have Received Major Attention In Terms Of Coverage and Engagement On Social Media?supporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Xsl • Fomentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological, Chemical, and Nutritional Food Risks and Food Safety Issues From Italian Online Information Sources: Web Monitoring, Content Analysis, and Data Visualization (Preprint)

Tiozzo¹,

Ruzza²,

Rizzoli³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…, 2020). A food safety alert could be amplified because general news media can deliver an alert within the frame of a political scandal (Ruzza et al. , 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trust and consumer confidence in the safety of dairy products in China

Zhang

Guan

Jin

2021

BFJ

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PurposeThis study aims to explore the degree of Chinese consumers' trust and confidence in the Chinese dairy products supply chain and the relationships between trust and overall confidence in dairy products safety and quality.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected data from 1,278 respondents by field survey from five provinces of China. The data were analyzed using ordered logit model.FindingsThis study shows the following results: (1) Chinese consumer confidence in domestic dairy products and trust in actors of the dairy chain are at a moderate-to-low level. (2) Government regulators are considered to take the most responsibility, with both an optimism-enhancing and a pessimism-reducing effect (the former effect is greater), while perceived trust in dairy farmers and retailers has little effect. (3) Perceived care has both an optimism-enhancing and a pessimism-reducing effect, and the former effect is stronger. Competence and openness have an optimism-enhancing effect and a pessimism-reducing effect, respectively. (4) The importance of the three dimensions of trust related to optimism-increasing and pessimism-reduction is limited, except in the case of government regulators.Originality/valueThis study contributes to a better understanding of consumer trust in food safety and also help demonstrate to the actors and institutions involved in the dairy supply chain the best way to improve the performance of their duties to meet the consumers' needs for safe and quality dairy products.

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“…Additionally, the importance of relying on experts is reiterated: the gynaecologist is recognised as the main authority regarding this phase of life. However, this result also underlines that all the institutions specifically dedicated to food safety (e.g., zooprophylactic institutes, ASL) need the same visibility to provide people with greater access to information on food risks [30]. The figures who are involved in food risk communication need to build a common strategy so that pregnant women receive clear and useful information on the diet to follow and the best practices to be adopted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The data collection was carried out through the WebLive application (http://www.web-live.it, (accessed on 5 March 2018); cf. [29,30]), a cloud-based web platform developed by Extreme Srl. A total of 648,399 items were collected.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Don’t Worry, Honey: It’s Cooked’: Addressing Food Risk during Pregnancy on Facebook Italian Posts

Rizzoli

Mascarello

Pinto

et al. 2021

Foods

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During pregnancy, women exposed to microbiological risks are more susceptible to contracting specific pathogens, which can lead to serious diseases both in the mother and the foetus. Food-borne diseases can be avoided to a large extent by following good practices of food manipulation and cooking. Safe eating behaviours are influenced by knowledge and perception of food risks and are constructed, among others, online. Pregnant women often use Web 2.0 to obtain and share pregnancy-related information as a strategy of collective coping with emotions through conversations. This paper explores how knowledge and perceptions of food risks during pregnancy are shared among users on Italian Facebook pages and groups. The corpus, including 648,399 items (i.e., posts), was analysed: (a) first, by means of the Reinert method, to verify to what extent issues concerning food risks are debated; and (b) second, through a manual content analysis, to observe how food risks are addressed in terms of contents and social sharing of emotions. The main results show that food risk is not among the most discussed topics, and the least known and debated food risks are the most widespread (e.g., campylobacteriosis). Sometimes, food risks, when addressed, were minimised or denied, and the belief to be ‘less at risk’ than peers for such risk (i.e., optimistic bias) was observed. The results underline the importance, for health institutions, of building a tailored communication strategy on food risks during pregnancy to promote correct food behaviours by exploiting social networks.

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Food Risks on the Web: Analysis of the 2017 Fipronil Alert in the Italian Online Information Sources

Cited by 13 publications

References 67 publications

Biological, Chemical, and Nutritional Food Risks and Food Safety Issues From Italian Online Information Sources: Web Monitoring, Content Analysis, and Data Visualization (Preprint)

Biological, Chemical, and Nutritional Food Risks and Food Safety Issues From Italian Online Information Sources: Web Monitoring, Content Analysis, and Data Visualization (Preprint)

Trust and consumer confidence in the safety of dairy products in China

‘Don’t Worry, Honey: It’s Cooked’: Addressing Food Risk during Pregnancy on Facebook Italian Posts

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