A study was made to identify dietitians' views of the knowledge about food safety needed by consumers. Thirty dietetic professionals in Japan were asked to participate, and twenty-two (73.3%) agreed. The participants ranked the importance of various topics related to food safety which was analyzed by a three-round Delphi technique, an approach to qualitative research that presents results in terms of the ranking. The response rates for the three rounds of the survey were 100% (
n = 22), 95.5% (
n = 21) and 95.5% (
n = 21) in order. After three rounds, 35 topics had been identified, topics related to “pesticide residue” ranking first, fourth, and tenth within the highest decile. The top 10 reasons provided by respondents for the importance of these topics mainly involved the internal process and behavior of consumers, and were related to the obligations of society, people involved with consumers, professionals, and producers.
According to dietitians, consumers require information about topics that affect their emotions and behavior, these being considered to be related to the internal process and behavior of consumers, and to the obligations of society. Further study among professionals and consumers is needed to fully identify the information about food safety required by consumers.
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