Public acceptance of radiocontamination in food products: what can we learn for a better decision-making?

In the aftermath of a nuclear event with subsequent contamination of the environment, the management of contaminated food productions systems is one of the main challenges. Consumer's acceptance plays an esseantial role in the successful implementation of management options. In this paper we seek to determine potentially explanatory variables for consumer’s attitude towards food with residual contamination. We take a close look at a number of factors that could influence it: acceptance of food legal norms, attitude towards nuclear energy and psychometric risk characteristics such as disaster potential and tampering with nature. The results are interpreted in the context of practical implications for the decision making process in nuclear emergency management. The study is based on empirical data from the SCK-CEN large-scale public opinion survey carried out in Belgium in the summer of 2009 on the basis of computer assisted personal interviews.