Introduction
Food insecurity and foodborne disease are important issues in Canada,
and the public health actions taken to address them can be conceptualized as factors
shaping the food environment. Given emerging evidence that these two areas may interrelate,
the objective of this study was to explore ways in which community food security
efforts and food safety practices (and the population health issues they aim to
address) may intersect in British Columbia, Canada, and interpret what this might mean
for conceptualizing and attaining healthier food environments.
Methods
We conducted 14 key informant interviews with practitioners working in
community food security and food safety in British Columbia, and used qualitative
descriptive analysis to identify examples of intersections between the sectors.
Results
Participants identified four key ways that the two sectors intersect. They identified
(1) how their daily practices to promote safe or healthy food could be helped or
hindered by the activities of the other sector; (2) that historically disjointed policies that
do not consider multiple health outcomes related to food may complicate the interrelationship;
(3) that the relationship of these sectors is also affected by the fact that specific
types of food products, such as fresh produce, can be considered both risky and
beneficial; and (4) that both sectors are working towards the same goal of improved
population health, albeit viewing it through slightly different lenses.
Conclusion
Food security and food safety connect in several ways, with implications
for characterizing and improving Canadian food environments. Collaboration across
separated public health areas related to food is needed when designing new programs
or policies aimed at changing the way Canadians eat.
“Highly processed, highly packaged, very unhealthy. But they are low risk”: exploring intersections between community food security and food safety
