Paper 10.2 Kitchen Life 2 - Update (February 2023)

Summary 

This paper provides an update on progress for the Kitchen Life 2 Working Group. It summarises background, key activities and future action. This paper is for information and discussion. 

Background 

• Kitchen Life 2 (KL2) is a large project undertaken by Social Science to better understand actual kitchen behaviours, both commercial and domestic. The project is being conducted by a consortium led by Basis Social in partnership with Leeds University, Analytical People and Life Stream (formerly Big Sofa Technologies). At the ACSS meeting in October 2020, the possible value of a working group to steer the Social Science ‘Kitchen Life 2’ project was discussed. Due to the novel methods of the project, it was agreed that this project would benefit from a working group model, facilitating their input into various stages of the project. The ACSS KL2 Working Group (WG) was convened and sits within the broader project advisory group convened by the research team, consisting of experts from other areas, including Microbiology. 

• The overall objective of the ‘Kitchen Life 2’ project is to inform the FSA’s understanding of food hygiene practices in domestic and commercial kitchens in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, enabling us to better inform our risk assessment, management and communication and our broader policy. The aim of the study is to identify (a) the key behaviours relating to food safety that occur in domestic and business conditions; where, when, how often and with whom they occur; (b) influences on those behaviours that would need to change if the behaviours were to change. 

The Kitchen Life 2 Working Group (KL2WG) is comprised of the following members: 

• Professor Julie Barnett (chair) 

• Ms Julie Hill 

• Dr Hannah Lambie-Mumford  

• Professor Fiona Gillison 

The Terms of Reference for the KL2WG were updated in May 2022. The agreed objectives are:  

• To sit within the Advisory Group (convened by research agency, consisting of KL2WG members as well as experts from other areas, including Microbiology). 

• To provide input at the following key points for each phase of the research: 

• A workshop to discuss emerging findings from literature review and shape the study design. This was held in April 2021. 

• A review session held after the data collection phase (Originally planned for April 2022 but occurred in November 2022) to inform thinking around behavioural interventions and discuss the focus and the structure of the report. This session was held as a ‘behavioural interventions workshop’, where representatives from a range of organisations supported the FSA and Basis in thinking about the research findings. A separate discussion took place with the ACSS working group in July 2022 to discuss initial plans for reporting and outputs.  

• A review session to discuss KL2 draft reports and proposed behavioural interventions. 

• To provide input separate from the Advisory Group in an ad hoc capacity supporting areas of the project such: Ethics procedure, Dashboard proforma, Dashboard draft, Consent forms and Secondary analysis ideas. 

Key activities to date  

• Since its inception the KL2WG has undertaken the following tasks: 

• Set out the terms of reference and established the group’s method of working alongside the wider project advisory group. 

• Contributing to the tender evaluation panel which took place on the 6th January 2021 to assess the bids for the project. The panel included working group members Hannah Lambie-Mumford and Julie Barnett. 

• Providing feedback and comment on the project literature review. 

• Provided comments on the ethical challenges of the study and supporting the team in drafting sound consent forms. 

• Input in key areas of the project e.g., input on what questions they would use the dashboard for and how the dashboard can best be structured. 

• Review the quality assurance processes for each stage of the project 

• Prioritisation of secondary analysis ideas and input in interview questions around sustainability.  

• Review and comment on the draft reporting plans 

• Participation and input into the behavioural interventions workshop 

• The KL2WG are currently awaiting outputs to review, following the behavioural interventions workshop.  

• Key activities going forward: 

• Reviewing the final outputs in Spring 2023 

• Supporting dissemination of the KL2 findings and output across their network. 

Julie Barnett, ACSS Kitchen Life 2 Working Group Chair 

 Helen Heard, Anya Mohideen, Abbie Collins, FSA