U. S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
FDA/IFIC Booklet, 1993


FOOD RISKS: PERCEPTION VS. REALITY

Teacher's Guide, Lesson 8

How Can I Sort This All Out?

BACKGROUND

When the food purchasing and consumption habits of consumers change, large economic and political ramifications can result. Food research information is newsworthy. Reports are sometimes conflicting. Even scientists do not always agree. Public confusion and frustration about these reports are understandable. This lesson focuses on three types of messages: research findings that help people determine the risks of everyday use, warnings of a specific nature that result in the recall of a product, and the long time required for most research along with the fact that legitimate scientific controversies exist.

STRATEGY

Allow students time to complete both parts of the work sheets. Then discuss the answers.

Ask students to note all the reports they read or hear during the next week. Allow volunteers to share their information. Discuss implications and possible responses.

Answers:

  1. Because the source of the information receives economic gain if you buy its product, consult other sources to confirm the facts.
  2. Science is not static. "Facts" are replaced by more up-to-date information. It is probably best to abide by the advice of the most reliable experts, those whose job it is to protect the public.
  3. The fact that the family ate this kind of fish without being ill has no bearing on the case. You should check the lot number of the cans you have and turn them in if you have any of the problem batch.
  4. This information probably has no relevance to you since milk is usually produced and shipped across relatively small areas. It is prudent to get as much information as possible. If you are unsure, ask the local health department or FDA.

* U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the International Food Information Council Foundation, 1993

Student Exercise, Lesson 8


Name ______________________________________

FOOD RISKS: PERCEPTION VS. REALITY

How Can I Sort This All Out?

MIND SWEEP

Television, radio, newspaper, and magazine reports that advise people about food and food safety are available daily.

Read each of the situations below and tell how you would react.

  1. You receive a free booklet from a distributor of organic vegetables. The booklet includes a list of health problems that are claimed to result from eating vegetables grown with pesticides.
  2. You read in the newspaper that new and more sensitive technology has revealed that a pesticide was once considered safe is now known to cause cancer.
  3. A local radio announcer interrupts the program you are listening to and announces a recall of Shrimpo canned fish. He also gives the lot number. You have several cans of Shrimpo on the shelf, but you remember that your family has eaten some twice in the last week and no one got ill.
  4. You see on the national television news that a great number of people in a town in another part of the country have become ill from drinking milk. You just bought a quart on your way from home.

ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?

We get all kinds of messages about food and food safety everyday. Sometimes the messages are warnings. Sometimes they conflict with the information in a previous report. You might feel confused. Following are a few hints to help you sort through the message maze. After reading the points below, reread the situations in the Mind Sweep section. Do you still agree with your original answers?

Points to Consider About Food and Food Safety Messages

  1. Consider the source.

    Where does the message come from? Is the source reliable? Be skeptical of sources that have something personal to gain by convincing you to believe the information. Reliable sources use scientific expertise to back up their claims. Often reliable resources, like the FDA, have authority. Information from reliable sources is usually backed up quickly by other reliable sources.

  2. Consider the scope and the specifics.

    Who is affected by the problem or information? Are only people of a certain age, such as newborn babies, affected? What about the amount consumed? Are you likely to consume close to that amount? Certain potent substances--like pesticides--can be used to help produce foods without harming consumers as long as dangerous amounts of the chemicals don't remain on the food. The FDA helps make sure safe limits are maintained. Is the problem confined to a certain area of the country? Is it possible that you have food shipped from that area? Is there a problem with only a specific batch of a product? If so, you need to throw out or return only those items with the affected lot number.

  3. Consider the nature of science.

    Most research questions take years to investigate. Before something is taken as fact, the results of an investigation must be repeated by others. Science controversies do exist. Different scientists interpret data differently. Food safety messages based on research can change as scientists discover new information. Researchers draw broad conclusions from studies of large groups of people. Their conclusions about the risk of eating or not eating something are guidelines to individuals, not guarantees.

* U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the International Food Information Council Foundation, 1993

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