Researchers from the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University will be giving out thermometers during the Amgueddfa Cymru Food Festival in Cardiff on Sept. 9.

As part of the “Is your fridge cold enough?” project, 1,000 people will get a free thermometer to take home. They will be asked to upload information about the temperature of their fridge to an online portal. 

Data collection started at another event in August, where 500 thermometers were distributed. Work continues into October, after which data analysis will take place and findings will be prepared as an abstract for presentation at the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) conference in 2024.

The citizen science project aims to obtain information about the operating temperatures of as many fridges as possible to determine if they are storing food safely. People who take part will be entered into a competition to win one prize of a £100 voucher ($125).

How to take part
Scientists will talk people through what they need to do and there will be a bilingual information sheet as part of the thermometer pack. Participants need to put the thermometer in the fridge door storage area and leave the door closed for at least 15 minutes. Past research has found the door of the refrigerator to be the warmest place in the fridge.

Then they should open the fridge and take a picture of the temperature on the thermometer.

Participants either scan the QR code or visit the web address on the information sheet to upload an image of the temperature displayed. On the portal there are questions regarding demographics, the temperature, and refrigeration practices. The portal to submit temperature information will remain open until October 9.

When a temperature above the recommended 5 degrees C (41 degrees F) is recorded, people are told that having a fridge operating at this level can encourage food poisoning organisms and spoilage bacteria to grow quicker. The portal also tells participants that they can reduce the risk of illness and help prevent food waste by gradually adjusting the dial, so temperature on the thermometer is 5 degrees C or less.

Benefit of citizen science projects
To take part in the project, visit ZERO2FIVE’s researchers in the Good Food Cardiff Zone area at the food festival in St Fagans National Museum of History.

Previous ZERO2FIVE research has found that people trust their fridges to ensure food is safe to eat, often without checking they are functioning at the correct temperature. Most households do not have refrigerator thermometers, meaning people may be storing food above the recommended 5 degrees C (41 degree F). This can lead to faster growth of spoilage and food poisoning bacteria.

Ellen Evans, who is leading the project, said: “This exciting citizen science project will give people a chance to take part in important research, but most importantly it will enable people to check whether their fridge is operating at a safe temperature and potentially reduce their risk of getting food poisoning. Fridge thermometers are an invaluable tool, and this is a great opportunity to get hold of one for free.” 

Meanwhile, the UK Association for Food Protection Conference has been scheduled at the All Nations Centre in Cardiff on Nov. 22, 2023. Speakers and the final program have yet to be confirmed.

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Donald Prater told attendees at the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) European Symposium in Aberdeen that in a crisis, communication has to be timely. Prater was part of a panel debate on the evolving role of food scientists and response to food safety crises.

“From a regulatory standpoint, that is something we are not always good at, we wait until we hit a threshold when there is enough information to communicate. We have to be timely, sometimes with short messages. It is also important to monitor the impact. Did the message get through? What did they do with the message? Did they change behavior in the way we expected?” he said.

“People may change behavior in ways that harm public health. In a crisis, sometimes there is a vacuum of information but that will be filled with something. Sometimes we are slow to communicate, to make sure we get it right and understand the impact. In that time period, the gap can be filled and if it is filled with information that contains harm, people can harm themselves or those around them.”

Connecting with the public
Traditionally, scientists’ roles have been in risk assessment or risk management but risk communication is an area that needs more attention, said Prater.

“It is more than just the hazard, we have to communicate about the exposure on a platform that the consumer is on, there is always an opportunity to do better. We need to listen to what are the things people are concerned about, then communicate on risk based on the evidence,” he said.

“Horizon scanning is important, there are new hazards and old hazards in new places because there is a lot of innovation. Things not traditionally used in food are now in the food supply. The role of food scientists is evolving, how we craft messages, listen and think about human behavior will be important.”

The panel also included Purnendu Vasavada, from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and Francois Bourdichon, of the Università Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore in Italy.

In recent years, consumers have been increasingly faced with the spread of myths and conspiracies dealing with food safety, especially on social media. Misinformation can spread quickly online leading to confusion, damage to public health and distrust in science, government agencies and businesses. False or distorted information can lead to a small food safety issue becoming a major media crisis or common concerns not receiving enough attention.

Role of risk communication
During the presentation, Michelle Patel, from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), said trust can fall apart in a crisis.

“The skills you need in the age of misinformation are different than the usual skills for risk assessors and risk managers. We need to value the skills of the risk communicator and be comfortable admitting uncertainty. We have to try to explain in simple terms what is going on and understand other points of view, even if we don’t agree. It is important to be proactive, tell people you are on it, you don’t have all the answers yet but are looking at it,” she said. 

Responding to food safety crises involves elements of risk communication and risk management. Scientists and food safety professionals can play an important role in communicating science-based information and help stop the spread of myths and misinformation, said panelists.

Helen Taylor, technical director at the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, said small and medium enterprises can lack qualified and knowledgeable individuals and there is a shortage of food scientists in the system.

“We have taken information from regulators and made it real and relevant. Young people today have access to instant information and education. We work with them as one size doesn’t fit all,” she said.

“Understanding what the challenges are for graduates in businesses can help them with their knowledge. If you have the right people in a business it can have a ripple effect of knowledge. In the UK, home economics is not in the curriculum and over the years there has been reduced interest in food science. Where is the next generation of food science professionals going to come from?

“We teach crisis management with our students and run it as if it was an actual product recall. It is a safe place to get exposure to something they may have to face when going into industry. This is observed and feedback provided to students.”

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The 19th annual UK Association for Food Protection (UKAFP) was held at the All Nations Centre in Cardiff, Wales in mid-November and was organized by Cardiff Metropolitan University’s ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre. 

Attendees heard from food safety experts such as Nathan Barnhouse and professor Robin May from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), on the authority’s role in a changing food system.

Other speakers included professor John Holah from Kersia UK, who shared insights on hygienic design in food safety. Holah is also the president of UKAFP.

Deb Smith, a hygiene specialist from Vikan, presented on challenges and solutions in allergen management; Carol Wallace, from the University of Central Lancashire, spoke about HACCP and Sarah Hall shared changes in Issue 6 of the Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA) standard.

Sharing best practice
Professor David Lloyd, director at ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, said: “The UK’s food and drink safety landscape has seen many changes over recent years including the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, an acceleration in the pace of new technologies which have shifted the way people are buying food, an increase in the awareness of the impact of food production on our planet, and growing concerns around food affordability and its nutritional content. 

“As food safety professionals, it’s important for us to come together to discuss how we can respond to a constantly evolving food safety landscape and plan for a sustainable, healthy, and safe future for consumers.”

Supported by the Welsh Government, ZERO2FIVE works with food and drink companies of all sizes to provide support with factory design, start-up advice, new product development, hygienic design, third-party certification, and global food standards compliance, food safety, authenticity and security, food and labeling legislation and market analysis.

Richa Bedi-Navik, senior global standards manager for BRCGS, updated attendees on recent changes in its recently launched Issue 9. 

“One of the core themes of the new issue of the BRCGS Global Standard is the importance of developing a positive food safety culture and its role in ensuring the effective implementation of food safety management systems, which in turn help to prevent product safety incidents.” 

A number of posters were also presented looking at topics such as hand hygiene at a sandwich factory, milking practices on dairy farms, food safety information in meal kit recipes, and Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) inspection reports.

Presentations from the conference are available for free here.

Other upcoming IAFP events include the European Symposium on Food Safety which will be held from May 3 to 5, 2023 in Aberdeen, Scotland.

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Ohio State University and Cardiff Metropolitan University recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). It was established by Ellen Evans from ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Met University and Sanja Ilic from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State. 

The focus is on vulnerable patient groups, part of the work being conducted by both institutions. Data collection is being carried out in the United States to look at the food safety training of dietitians and the collaboration has resulted in two publications and four conference contributions, with more planned.

The first study, published in 2021, covered the attitudes of student dietitians, from three international institutions, toward food safety. The other looked at the role of dietitians in providing food safety information.

Conference output has included the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) European Symposium in Munich in May 2022 and the IAFP virtual annual meeting in October 2020. Two pieces of work were also presented at the Consumer Food Safety Education (CFSE) virtual conference.

Evans is advising a PhD student at Ohio State University, who is using the findings of a research product at ZERO2FIVE as the basis for developing targeted food safety interventions for people receiving cancer treatment.

“With this Memorandum of Understanding in place, we will be able to deliver further important research together that will help to protect the most vulnerable in society from the risk of foodborne illness,” said Evans.  

With support from the Welsh Government, ZERO2FIVE works with food and drink companies of all sizes to provide support with factory design, start-up advice, new product development, third party certification and food standards compliance including BRCGS and SALSA, food safety and security, food and labeling legislation, nutrition, market analysis and marketing.

The MoU was signed on behalf of Cardiff Met University by professor Katie Thirlaway, dean of the Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences.

“One of the strategic priorities of Cardiff Met University is building and strengthening our global links by connecting with partner universities around the world to produce research with global relevance and impact,” said Thirlaway. 

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