In the following sections we discuss the current context of food
safety and public concern, industry and government response, and
the literature informing this research. Then we present the methodology
utilized for data collection and analysis of a cross-scale
survey measuring awareness and concern for food safety risks
among fresh produce growers in the U.S. Midwest states of Indiana,
Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. Specific areas of concern included
pathogens, sources of on-farm contamination, effectiveness of
prevention practices, and barriers to adopting prevention practices.
After a discussion of the findings we conclude with an argument
that food safety risks are specific to the structure of each farm as
shaped by goals, farm scale, and types of farming systems. This
emphasis on risk-based approaches is desirable because it shifts
our efforts away from hunting for knowledge deficits among produce
growers that may identify how to convince farmers to do
things that may be of little benefit to them and that offer little
reduction in produce safety risks. This shift can reduce the unintended
harm to produce operators from poorly developed policy by
addressing perceptions of risk among growers and aligning recommendations
and standards with real risks. Creating a food safety
system that takes these factors into account will move us away
from generalizing risk across farm scales and toward developing
regulation that emphasizes risk-based decision-making and standards
with scale-appropriate practices