Guelph Food Safety Seminar "The Foodbook study: high-risk food consumption in the Canadian population and introduction to Foodbook 2.0"

Title:

The Foodbook study: high-risk food consumption in the Canadian population and introduction to Foodbook 2.0

Speakers:

• Megan Tooby, Epidemiologist;
• Courtney Primeau, Epidemiologist;
• Lilian Diaz, Masters Student, Public Health Agency of Canada, Outbreak Management Division

Abstract:

All foods have the potential to cause foodborne illness, but some foods pose a higher risk than others. Data were collected through the Foodbook study, a population-based telephone survey conducted between 2014 and 2015 that assessed 10,942 Canadians' food exposures using a seven-day recall period. Nineteen foods included in the survey were identified as high-risk for common foodborne pathogens in Canada. Nationally, consumption proportions of high-risk foods ranged from 0.4% (raw oysters) to 49.3% (deli-meats). Certain high-risk food behaviors were associated with demographic characteristics. High-risk adults 65 years or older report consuming high-risk foods of concern, including deli-meats, soft cheeses and smoked fish. If a respondent had heard of a risk of foodborne illness associated with a food, it did not affect whether it was consumed. Additional consumer food safety efforts put in place alongside current messaging may improve high-risk food consumption behaviors. Foodbook 2.0 is expected to be launched in the fall of 2021. The study will include residents of each province and territory, and data collection will continue for one year. A dual-stream approach will be utilized; respondents will be initially contacted by mail or telephone, and may complete the survey online or over the phone. This study is an opportunity to collect updated information on Canadian food, water, and animal exposures to assist in enteric outbreak investigations, to inform burden of enteric illness estimates, and to gather data regarding consumer food safety knowledge and behaviour in Canada.

The article may be found online here: https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article/doi/10.4315/JFP-21- 101/467297/Consumption-of-high-risk-foods-in-the-Canadian

Presenter biographies:

Megan Tooby is an epidemiologist with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Outbreak Management Division, currently working with the Outbreak Analytics, Improvement and Development team. Megan holds a B.Sc. (Honours) degree in Biology from McMaster University and a Master of Public Health from the University of Guelph. She has worked with the Outbreak Management Division since May 2019, when she started with PHAC as an MPH practicum student, and has been involved with the Foodbook project since then.

Courtney Primeau is an epidemiologist with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Outbreak Management Division, currently working with the Outbreak Analytics, Improvement and Development team. Courtney holds a B.Sc. (Honours) degree in Biology from Queen’s University, a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Guelph, and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Guelph. She has worked with the Public Health Agency of Canada since 2015, and joined the Outbreak Management Division in 2020.

Lilian Diaz is a student with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Outbreak Management Division, currently working with the Outbreak Analytics, Improvement and Development team. Lilian holds a B.Sc. (Honours) degree in Chemical Biology from McMaster University, and is currently working towards the completion of a Master of Science in Public Health degree from McGill University. She recently completed a summer practicum with the Outbreak Management Division, where she worked to develop an interactive data tool to visualize the results from the first Foodbook survey.