Development and evaluation of a risk-communication campaign on salmonellosis Barbara Tiozzo a, * , Silvia Mari b , Paolo Magaudda c , Valeria Arzenton a , Dora Capozza d , Federico Neresini e , Licia Ravarotto a a Training and Communication Unit, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy b Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy c Observa e Science in Society, Viale Fusinieri 65, 36100 Vicenza, Italy d Faculty of Psychology, University of Padova, Viale Venezia 8, 35100 Padova, Italy e Department of Sociology, University of Padova, via Cesarotti,10/12, 35123 Padova, Italy article info Article history: Received 21 December 2009 Received in revised form 20 April 2010 Accepted 30 April 2010 abstract Risk-communication campaigns are important means of promoting food safety. Although foodborne diseases are a widespread public-health problem, in Italy few communication campaigns have focused on such diseases. In 2007, we launched a public risk-communication campaign on salmonellosis. The initiative, based on communication theory, included a formative research, aimed to outline key aspects for campaign’s development, and an impact evaluation survey. The campaign was found effective in terms of target penetration and measurable learning outcomes. Results confirm that risk-communication campaigns on microbial infections can be successful when based on rigorous methodology, including a systematic evaluation process. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Food safety is one of the most widespread public-health prob- lems in both economically developed and developing countries, and it is of great concern to consumers in terms of the potential for foodborne illnesses (Motarjemi & Käferstein, 1997; Redmond & Griffith, 2003; Todd, 1997). Among foodborne pathogens, Salmo- nella, in particular Salmonella enteritidis, is recognized as the predominant enteric pathogen in Western countries (World Health Organization [WHO], 2007) and the most widespread cause of foodborne outbreaks in Europe (European Food Safety Authority [EFSA], 2009). The sources of infection include a wide range of domestic and wild animals and foodstuffs of both animal and plant origin, and the most commonly reported locations of exposure to Salmonella are private households, restaurants and cafés (Baird- Parker, 1990; Parry, Miles, Tridente, Palmer, & South and East Wales Infectious Disease Group, 2004; Redmond & Griffith, 2003; Scott, 1996; Scott, 2003). Nonetheless, the general public tends to underestimate micro- biological foodborne illnesses, and they consider environmental contamination as posing a greater risk, specifically, pesticide resi- dues and drugs or hormones used in animal production (Arzenton, Neresini, & Ravarotto, 2005; Powell, 1996). It has also been shown that the perceived risk of food poisoning is related to optimistic bias: individuals believe that they are less likely to suffer from food poisoning than other comparable persons (Arzenton et al., 2005; Parry et al., 2004). However, recent public-health emergencies and food crises, in particular, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (McCluskey, Grimsrud, Ouchi, & Wahl, 2005; Verbeke, Viaene, & Guiot, 1999), avian influenza (de Zwart et al., 2007), wine with methanol (Rosati & Saba, 2004), and dioxin-contaminated poultry (Verbeke et al., 1999) have contributed to increasing risk perception for foodborne illnesses and have given rise to doubts and questions as to the safety of commercially available products. One of the strategies adopted to address the public’s perception of specific health risks is communication campaigns targeting the general public (Aarva, De Haes, & Visser, 1997; Fischhoff, 1995; Freimuth, Linnan, & Potter, 2000; Glik, 2007; McComas, 2006; Scott, 2003; Whittingham & Ruiter, 2008). However, though there is much literature on the public’s perception of food-related hazards (Arzenton et al., 2005; Fischer, De Jong, De Jonge, Frewer, & Nauta, 2005; Fischhoff & Downs, 1997; Fischler, 2002; Frewer, Howard, Hedderly, & Shepherd, 1997; Halkier et al., 2007; Kleef et al. 2006; Parry et al., 2004; Powell, 1996; Redmond & Griffith, 2003; Rohr, Lüddecke, Drusch, Müller, & Alvensleben, 2005; Rosati & Saba, * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ39 0498084273; fax: þ39 0498084270. website E-mail address: btiozzo@izsvenezie.it (B. Tiozzo). URL: http://www.izsvenezie.it Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Control journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodcont 0956-7135/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2010.04.030 Food Control xxx (2010) 1e9 Please cite this article in press as: Tiozzo, B., et al., Development and evaluation of a risk-communication campaign on salmonellosis, Food Control (2010), doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2010.04.030