The shifting psychology of food safety: from sensory evaluation to a cognitive assessment
Understanding the psychological basis of food safety assessment in an era of infectious diseases becomes paramount. Functioning within a globalized food supply chain, there is a shift from sensory assessment to cognitive assessment of food safety. This short essay assesses the sensory versus cognitive evaluation of food safety. As a result of such a shift, a crucial aspect in food safety perception is the outstanding question of whether the public understands modern food safety systems. Despite an effort to reduce consumer uncertainty when buying routine and exotic food items, there has been a significant shift from a direct safety assessment to an indirect information processing paradigm. Moving away from sensory to cognitive assessment leads to higher information load that may not serve to ensure consumer confidence in food safety.