2011 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2011 Awards for Excellence From: British Food Journal, Volume 114, Issue 2

The following article was selected for this year’s Outstanding Paper Award for British Food Journal

“A tale of two crises: the Belgian and Irish dioxin contamination incidents''

Donal K. CaseyJames S. LawlessSchool of Law, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Patrick G. WallSchool of Public Health and Population Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Purpose -- This paper aims to provide a focused overview of two dioxin incidents, with particular emphasis on regulatory successes and failures and their respective causes. The paper seeks to adopt a comparative approach to the case studies, with considerable use made of primary sources such as parliamentary debate, government reports and EC legislation.Design/methodology/approach-- The paper is a review of the strengths and weaknesses in the management of the Belgian and Irish dioxin contanimation incidents.Findings-- It is concluded that open, transparent and decisive risk management, based on robust risk assessment, is paramount in ensuring confidence in both the food supply chain and, in the feed and food safety regulatory process. It is also concluded that the 2008 Irish dioxin incident tested the reforms prompted by previous food scares.Practical implications -- It is important that the lessons from these two incidents are learnt if they are not to be repeated in other jurisdictions.Originality/value -- This is the first academic study of the 2008 Irish dioxin incident, one of the most significant recent food scares in the European Communities. The incident emphasises the vital role of open, transparent and decisive decision making in managing risk. In addition, through a comparative analysis of the Belgian and Irish incidents, the utility of the reforms prompted by previous food scares is demonstrated. In particular, the study highlights the important role played by the European Food Safety Authority in one of its first major tests as a risk assessor and risk communicator.Keywords Belgium,Contamination, European Union, Food safety, Ireland, Risk managementwww.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/00070701011080212

This article originally appeared in Volume 112 Number 10, 2010, pp. 1077-91,British Food Journal

The following articles were selected for this year’s Highly Commended Award

"Brand familiarity and tasting in conjoint analysis: an experimental study with Croatian beer consumers''

Marija CerjakRainer HaasDamir Kovacõic¨

This article originally appeared in Volume 112 Number 6, 2010, British Food Journal

Outstanding Reviewers

Caroline Ritchie The University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, UK

John EdwardsBournemouth University, UK