CHAIR: Lydia Buchtmann, Communications Director
5.1. 2017-18 GOALS
GOAL 1. To conduct a successful 2017 Australian Food Safety Week and summer campaign subject to level of funding available.
GOAL 2. Conduct six successful smaller campaigns via the Science Media Centre.
GOAL 3. Expand topics on website beyond microbiological to cover food safety issues linking to member websites e.g. packaging, new technologies.
5.2. REPORT
GOAL 1. Australian Food Safety Week was held from 11 to 18 November 2017 and its theme was ‘Is it done yet? Use a thermometer for great food, cooked safely every time’.
70 per cent of Australians surveyed do not know that 75°C is the safe cooking temperature for high-risk foods such as hamburgers, sausages and poultry. 75 per cent of Australians surveyed also reported that there was not a meat thermometer in their household and only 44 per cent of those with a thermometer reported using is over the previous month.
Key messages:
- Purchase a meat thermometer or use the one you have
- Cook riskier foods (poultry, minced rolled products and reheated leftovers) to 75°C; egg dishes to 72°C
The 2017 Australian Food Safety Week ‘Is it done yet? Use a thermometer for great food, cooked safely every time’ was highly successful:
- FSIC produced a TV community service announcement that was screened 366 times and three radio announcements were aired 4,100 times including to specific indigenous audiences
- Our YouTube video was shown in 49,000 GP surgeries reaching an audience of 14 million a month
- The media coverage reached a known audience of 1,186,076
- 1650 posters, 3300 brochures and 682 fridge thermometers were distributed to community events around the country
- A pre and post campaign survey found a one per cent increase in safe cooking temperature knowledge and that cooking temperature knowledge was higher among people who owned thermometers
GOAL 2. In addition to the Australian Food Safety Week and Summer campaign media releases were issued during the year 10 smaller campaigns were developed around calendar events during the year.
- Get ready for the single use plastic bag ban from 1 July 2018 with this food safety advice (June 2018)
- Mothers’ Day reminder for mums-to-be about the risk from listeria infection(13 May 2018)
- Love your backyard chooks but remember to wash your hands (Pet Day11 April 2018)
- Easter entertaining – your friends and family could be at risk of listeria(29 March 2018)
- Autumn foragers warned not to pick or eat wild mushrooms because of deadly death cap risk(21 March 2018)
- Concerns raised about young people’s poor food safety knowledge as the academic year begins(9 February 2018)
- Keep your Australia Day BBQ safe – use a meat thermometer(25 January 2018)
- Warning to wash hands regularly to reduce your chance of flu and food poisoning (Global Handwashing Day 15 October 2017)
- Pets can share more than their love – food safety and pets tips released(4 October 2017)
- Spring is here – five food safety tips for growing your own fruit and vegetables(1 September 2017)
Pets and food safety generated 14 newspaper stories in regional NSW and Qld reaching an audience of 131,029, while Global Handwashing Day generated 48 radio items in Victoria reaching an audience of 402,000.
Food incidents and other media coverage
- Listeria and rockmelons
- Newspaper 885,246
- Broadcast 5,675,400 = 238 radio, 513 TV and 27 press
- Reasons for food recalls
- broadcast audience 894,200
- Use by dates audience 790,400
- Apricot kernels
- four items newspaper audience 353438
- Food poisoning risks
- Women’s Health magazine audience 280,218
Most of our media coverage was as a result of media contacting us (reactive media) as a trusted source of evidence-based information.
Figure 1 2017-18 media coverage results
GOAL 3. The website now has over 100 short articles on food safety issues which now include, in addition to microbial issues, information on allergens, chemicals in food, natural toxins in food, wild mushrooms, environmental issues such as reusable containers and shopping bags and keep cups, histamine poisoning, and mercury in fish.
5.3. 2018-19 GOALS
GOAL 1. To conduct a successful 2018 Australian Food Safety Week and summer campaign subject to level of funding available.
GOAL 2. To handover communication skills to other Board members as a back up to Communication Director.