Technical assistance in the field of risk communication

This report assesses peer-reviewed and grey literature on risk communication concepts and practices,as requested by the European Commission to support the implementation of a ‘General Plan for RiskCommunication’, i.e. an integrated framework for EU food safety risk assessors and risk managers atUnion and national level, as required by the revised EU General Food Law Regulation. We conducted ascoping review of social research studies and ofcial reports in relati on to risk communication in thefollowing areas: understanding and awareness of risk analysis roles and tasks, reducingmisunderstanding of the different meaning of the terms ‘hazard’ and ‘risk’, tackling misinformation anddisinformation, enhancing condence in EU food safety, taking account of risk perceptions, key factorsin trade-offs about risks, audience segmentation and tools, channels and mechanisms for coordinatedrisk communications. We structured our ndings as follows: i) denitions of key concepts, ii) audienceanalysis and information requirements, iii) risk proling, models and mechanisms, iv) contributions tocommunication strategies. We ma ke several recommendations for consideration by the Commission,both in terms of actions to support the design and implementation of the general plan, and researchneeds that we consider crucial to further inform appropriate risk communication in the EU. EFSAcarried out a targeted consultation of experts and a public consultation open to all interested partiesincluding the general public, in preparing and nalising this report