International Livestock Research Institute Media workshop report Deliver food safety messages to the community: An integrated approach between researchers and journalists – The case of animal-source food June 2022 © 2022. International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) ILRI thanks all donors and organizations which globally support its work through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund. This publication is copyrighted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). It is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. To view this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Unless otherwise noted, you are free to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format), adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) for any purpose, even commercially, under the following condition: ATTRIBUTION. The work must be attributed, but not in any way that suggests endorsement by ILRI or the author(s). NOTICE: For any reuse or distribution, the license terms of this work must be made clear to others. Any of the above conditions can be waived if permission is obtained from the copyright holder. Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author’s moral rights. Fair dealing and other rights are in no way affected by the above. The parts used must not misrepresent the meaning of the publication. ILRI would appreciate being sent a copy of any materials in which text, photos etc. have been used. Written by Ngo Hoang Tuan Hai Citation ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute). 2022. Delivery food safety messages to the community: An integrated approach between researchers and journalists – The case of animal- source food. Report of a media workshop held on 7 June 2022. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. i Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. iii Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................... iv Workshop summary .................................................................................................................................. 1 Media clippings ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Agenda ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Participants ............................................................................................................................................... 5 ii Acknowledgements The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) expresses sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Hanoi University of Public Health (host) and the Vietnam Journalists’ Association (VJA) for co-hosting the organization of the event. We thank the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) for funding the Market-based approach to improving the safety of pork in Vietnam (SafePORK) project which provided technical support to the workshop. iii Abbreviations ACIAR Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research HUPH Hanoi University of Public Health ILRI International Livestock Research Institute SafePORK Market-based approach to improving the safety of pork in Vietnam VFA Vietnam Food Safety Administration VJA Vietnam Journalists’ Association WHO World Health Organization iv Workshop proceedings Organizer/co-organizers: Hanoi University of Public Health (HUPH), Vietnam Journalists’ Association (VJA) and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Panellists/facilitators • Pham Duc Phuc, deputy director, Centre for Public Health and Ecosystem Research, HUPH • Nguyen Thi Duong Nga, Agricultural Economics lecturer, Vietnam National University of Agriculture; • Fred Unger, regional representative for ILRI East and Southeast Asia, • Tran Thi Thu Lieu, vice head, Department of Food Poisoning Supervision and Communication, Vietnam Food Administration (VFA), • Dang Xuan Sinh, Postdoc scientist, ILRI, • Phan Thi Thanh Hoa, researcher, The French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), • Tran Thai Son, vice head, Professional Department, VJA, • Tran Thi Tuyet Hanh, Environmental Health lecturer, head, Department of Science and Technology, HUPH, • Dong Manh Hung, head of Editor Board, Voice of Vietnam (VOV), • Nguyen Vinh Quyen, journalist and lecturer, Centre for Media training, VJA, • Nguyen Thi Phuc, technical officer, World Health Organization (WHO). Objectives The media workshop aimed to: • Share recent findings on microbial contamination of animal-sourced foods (e.g. pork and poultry), related risks and measures to improve food safety along the value chains. • Understand differences between risk communication measures in science and in mass media (e.g., objective, target audience, preferred channels, hazards versus risks). • Discuss and suggest potential joint-strategies on how to transfer scientific information on food safety to the public via mass media tools. Summary The media workshop brought together about 60 Vietnamese researchers and reporters to discuss ways for better transferring scientific results on food safety to the mass media by strengthening the collaboration between researchers and journalists. Of 60 participants, about thirty journalists came from a cross section of Vietnam’s news agencies and magazine publishers. Communicating scientific results to the public is an urgent requirement of the researcher, the authorities as well as the media. However, the collaboration among these actors is limited. In consequence, the consumers are not well informed of the latest research findings in food safety. Through the media workshop, food safety researchers sought to find an appropriate approach to deliver their cutting-edge research to the mass media with the support from the journalists, who possessed tools and skills to transfer the scientific results to appropriate messages for the target audience. In the first session, Dang Xuan Sinh, postdoc scientist from ILRI, Pham Thi Thanh Hoa, researcher from CIRAD and Nguyen Thi Duong Nga, lecturer from VNUA presented the findings from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research-funded ‘Market-based approaches to improving the safety of pork in Vietnam’ (SAFEPORK) project and Global Challenges Research Fund- funded One Health Poultry Hub project. In detail, they updated the microbial contamination on pork and poultry in Vietnam as well as the knowledge, attitude and practice of consumer about food safety. Later, Dong Manh Hung, head of editor board from VOV, shared the view of journalists in communicating and disseminating the food safety information to the 1 community. He highlighted the ethical responsibility and social objective of journalist as communicators. Finally, Tran Manh Chien, founder of Bactom boutique shops, and Tran Thi Thu Lieu, vice head of Department of Food Poisoning Supervision and Communication, VFA talked about risk communication from the view of food safety management agency. A panel of experts from VFA, the Vietnam Food Safety Working Group, the World Health Organization, HUPH then shared the key concepts and definitions in food safety with the journalists and discussed the appropriate channels and strategies of communicating scientific findings to the mass media. Generally, all panelists agreed that there is lack of collaboration mechanism among researchers and journalist to deliver food safety information to the community while the key driver to motivate this activity is a legal framework. Associate Professor Tran Thi Tuyet Hanh from HUPH highlighted difficulties in transforming scientific results into practice and suggested the scientists need to be more active in collaborating with the journalists. Dong Manh Hung from VOV also recommended the authorities to create a mechanism to enhance the collaboration among scientists and journalists. In addition, Nguyen Vinh Quyen from VJA implicated the importance of scientific evidence in supporting policy makers although it takes long for influencing the policy. Associate Professor Tuyet Hanh concluded that the scientific research is not ended until the results are delivered to the community, and the collaboration with journalists is the key to accomplish it. From the view of the authorities, Tran Thi Thu Lieu gave an example that VFA used the scientific results to develop food safety standard and indicated the importance of cooperation in addressing communication crisis in food safety by transferring precise messages to the community. Finally, all panelists acknowledge that honesty, preciseness and timeliness are the essential factors to strengthen the collaboration between scientists and journalists. 2 Media clippings Vietnamese • Báo Nhân dân: Nâng cao năng lực truyền thông về an toàn thực phẩm (Capacity development on food safety communication) • Tạp chí VnEconomy: Nguy cơ mất an toàn thực phẩm chủ yếu lây nhiễm ở vi sinh vật (Food safety risks mainly come from biological contamination) • Báo Lao động: Nhiều người tiêu dùng vẫn coi nhẹ mức độ ô nhiễm trong thịt lợn, gà (Consumers don’t pay due attention to biological contamination on pork and chicken) • Báo Vietnamnet: Trên 58% thịt lợn ở 3 địa phương nhiễm vi khuẩn Salmonella (More than 58% of pork in 3 provinces infected with Salmonella) • Báo Nông nghiệp: 92% người dân tin bằng mắt thường phát hiện đượ c thịt không an toàn (92% of the public believe that the naked eye can detect unsafe meat) • Website Hội nhà báo Việt Nam: Nâng cao năng lực truyền thông đưa tin về an toàn thực phẩm ở Việt Nam (Capacity development on food safety communication in Vietnam) • Báo Hà Nội Mới: Nâng cao năng lực truyền thông về an toàn thực phẩm ở Việt Nam (Capacity development on food safety communication in Vietnam) • Đài VOV: Báo chí mới chỉ tập trung phản ánh thông tin tiêu cực về an toàn thực phẩm (The media has only focused on reflecting negative information about food safety) • Đài VOV2: Tăng cư ờng hợp tác giữa nghiên cứu và báo chí về an toàn thực phẩm (Strengthening collaboration between researchers and reporters on food safety) • Báo Công thương: Trách nhiệm của truyền thông với nguy cơ an toàn thực phẩm (Media responsibilities for food safety risks) • Báo Khoa học phát triển: An toàn thực phẩm: Hiểu biết không đầy đủ dẫn đến mất cảnh giác (Inadequate understanding of food safety risks leads to caught off guard) • Tạp chí Doanh nghiệp Việt Nam: Báo chí mới chỉ tập trung phản ánh thông tin tiêu cực an toàn thực phẩm (The media has only focused on reflecting negative information about food safety) và Can thiệp đơn giản ở lò mổ, chợ giúp giảm thiểu ô nhiễm vi sinh vật trên thịt lợn (Simple interventions at slaughterhouses and markets can help reduce microbial contamination on pork) • Tạp chí Uy tín tiêu dùng: Trách nhiệm của truyền thông với nguy cơ an toàn thực phẩm (Media responsibilities for food safety risks) • Báo Công luận: Nhiều bằng chứng rõ ràng về ô nhiễm vi sinh trên thịt lợn (Strong evidence of microbial contamination on pork) • Báo Đại đoàn kết: An toàn vệ sinh thực phẩm: Ngườ i tiêu dùng chưa hiểu đúng, hiểu đủ (Consumers don’t understand rightly and sufficiently about food safety risks) • Báo tin tức: Đổi mới cách tiếp cận thông tin về an toàn thực phẩm (Changing the approach to food safety information) • Báo Công an nhân dân: Đổi mới cách tiếp cận thông tin về an toàn thực phẩm (Changing the approach to food safety information) • Tạp chí tài chính: Nhiều người tiêu dùng vẫn coi nhẹ mức độ ô nhiễm trong thịt lợn, gà (Consumers don’t pay due attention to biological contamination on pork and chicken) • Tạp chí Lao động xã hội: Nâng cao chất lượ ng truyền thông về an toàn vệ sinh thực phẩm (Capacity development on food safety communication) English • Trung tâm truyền thông giáo dục sức khỏe, Bộ Y tế: Nâng cao năng lực truyền thông về an toàn thực phẩm ở Việt Nam (Capacity development on food safety communication) • Đài truyền hình Hà Nội: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k- mO1bxjVlE (Television) • Đài truyền hình Hòa Bình: Báo chí mới chỉ tập trung phản ánh thông tin tiêu cực về an toàn thực phẩm (The media has only focused on reflecting negative information about food safety) • Khoa kinh tế và Phát triển Nông thôn, Học viện Nông nghiệp Việt Nam: Chuyển tải thông đi ệp an toàn thực phẩm tới công chúng thông qua tăng cường hợp tác giữa nghiên cứu và báo chí – trường hợp thực phẩm có nguồn gốc động vật (Delivery of food safety messages to the public by strengthening collaboration between researchers and reporters) • Vietnam News: Media urged to be more balanced in food safety reporting • ILRI website: Media workshop on food safety reporting held in Vietnam to commemorate World Food Safety Day 3 Agenda Time Content In charge 08.30-09.00 Registration HUPH/ILRI 09.00-09.10 Introduction and welcome remarks HUPH, VJA and ILRI 09.10-10.00 Part 1: Share recent findings on microbial Facilitated by Dr Pham Duc Phuc, HUPH contamination of selected animal-source foods Assoc Prof Nga Nguyen Thi Duong, VNUA and KAP and trust of consumers in the smallholder pork Assoc Prof Huyen Le Thi Thanh, NIAS value chain Dr Sinh Dang-Xuan, ILRI and representative Biological contamination in pork and poultry Dr Pham Thi Thanh Hoa, One Health Poultry Hub Q&A (for each presentation) 10.00-10.20 Part 2: Risk communication in food safety Mr Dong Manh Hung, Head, Editing Board, Current food safety messages in media: a story of Voice of Vietnam pork/poultry product 10.20-10.30 Tea break 10.30-11.00 Part 3: Challenges in risk communication in food safety Dr Tran Thi Thu Lieu, Head, Food Poisoning The most popular communication channels of Management and Communications, VFA authorities and researchers Mr Tran Manh Chien, CEO of Bac Tom shops Effects of current food safety risk communication activities to relevant stakeholders 11.00-11.45 Part 4: Panel discussion - How to transform scientific Dr Tran Thi Thu Lieu, VFA results to appropriate information for mass media: Dr Tran Thi Tuyet Hanh, HUPH • Appropriate channels Dr Nguyen Thi Phuc, WHO • Feasible measures Mr Dong Manh Hung, VOV • Potential strategies Ms Nguyen Vinh Quyen, VJA Q&A 11.45-12.00 Next steps and closing HUPH 4 Participants Name Sex (M/F) Phạm Thị Thanh Hoa F Nguyễn Chung Thuỷ F Duong Nam Hà M Trần Tố Như F Tạ Nguyên F Đặng Minh Tuấn M Nguyễn Hà F Thuỳ Giang F Lê Tâm F Phạm Đức Phúc M Lê Thị Hằng F Nguyễn Hồng Phi M Nguyễn Lệ Thanh F Vũ Văn Duy M Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Chi F Ngô Hà M Hoài Anh F Chu Khái M Trần Thái Sơn M Lê Bình M Trần Thị Thuý Liễu F Trương Thuý Ngọc F Thái Mạnh Hùng M Nguyễn Đỗ Hoàng Vi F Võ Thu Ngọc F Nguyễn Thị Dương Nga F Trần Thị Ngân F Đặng Thảo Lam F Vương Trung Tuyến M Nguyễn Thị Phúc F Phạm Văn Hùng M Nguyễn Mai Quỳnh F Dương Thị Thanh F Ninh Xuân Trung M Nguyễn Kiềm M Đồng Mạnh Hùng M Nguyễn Văn Quang M Nguyễn Thu Nga F Trần Sơn Hải M Lã Hằng F Trần Thị Tuyết Hanh F Nguyễn Thanh Tâm F Nguyễn Thành Trung M Phạm Mai Hương F Nguyễn Thị Hồng Hạnh F Nguyễn Anh Tuấn M Nguyễn Quỳnh Trang F Hoàng Kim Anh F Phạm Ngọc Anh F Vĩnh Quyền M Dương Nghĩa Toàn M Thao Lan F Nguyễn Hoàng Minh Quân M Nguyễn Thị Vân Anh F Nguyễn Bá Thăng M Hoàng Quyên F Ngô Hoa Mai F Nguyễn Ngọc Trang F Hoàng Thị Hiền F Đào Thu Vinh F 5