Poor consumers let down by ineffective listeriosis messaging
A study reveals a significant income difference between those who are are well-informed about ‘listeriosis’ and those who are not
More than two months have passed since the World Health Organisation confirmed that the listeriosis outbreak in SA was the biggest globally, and consumers in the country were cautioned about the dangers of consuming contaminated products. Subsequently, the Department of Health urged consumers to destroy and refrain from consuming a number of processed meat products. Large-scale recalls of affected products were also initiated across SA. Since then, and despite various efforts, the death toll and infections increased to about 200 confirmed deaths and more than 1,000 infections. This raises a number of questions: did these messages reach consumers in a timely manner? Did consumers understand them? And did the messages change the consumers’ behaviour? These questions become even more critical when considering low(er)-income consumers. These consumers rely heavily on the implicated products and are therefore comparatively more exposed to the food safety issues associated with the lister...
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