This article proposes a new approach to the issue of the acceptability of food irradiation, based on the analysis of the discourse of opinion makers and the theory of social representations. Two rounds of public consultations were held in Canada concerning the regulation of irradiation. Through analysis of the participants’ discourse, the representations of risk that they expressed can be identified, and more can be learned about the social organization of the actors in the debate. By putting the results in perspective with the historical context, this article sheds new light on the influence that the discourse of opinion makers may have had on the regulatory and commercial fate of irradiation and on its acceptability among citizens-consumers.

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Outbreaks of foodborne illness generally receive abundant print media coverage. However, the framing of outbreaks and representations of foodborne pathogens in the media discourse are not necessarily homogeneous. Drawing on previous research on media coverage of emerging diseases and on the conceptual tools of framing theory, this paper explores the diversity of frames and representations used in the media coverage of two listeriosis outbreaks that occurred in Canada in fall 2008. In the dominant war against microbes frame, microbes are portrayed as posing serious risks that call for stringent control measures. This frame coexists with other frames which rather emphasize economic, ecosystem or nutrition issues and which are supported by representations of microbial risks that either mitigate these risks, present them as inevitable or as less serious than others. The implications of these observations for the public understanding of foodborne microbial risks are discussed.