INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION- A NEW MODEL OF COMMUNICATION ON RISKS IN FOOD

Even small mistakes in communication on the risks in food can tarnish reputation and confidence in institutions included into the system of food safety or food produc-ers, and inflicts damage to the effort which takes years to invest to earn consumers ’ confidence. In crisis situations, companies that produce food can find themselves over-night in a situation where they are expected to apologize, justify, explain the level of danger for consumers, etc. In that process, it is important even for the public institutions and food producers to understand the differences in per-ception of the public of certain risks in food, as well as to predict any possible reactions of the public. Including all the interested parties to a dialogue makes it easier for risk managers to evaluate the risk, to identify and balance between the possible options in risk management, as well as to implement and evaluate measures to be taken up, and it also reduces the loss of consumers ’ confidence to a food producer. This two- way system is called interactive communication on risks in food. Key words: communication of risks, food safety, inter-active communicatio