Paper 13.9 KL2: Impact Plan (2024-2025)
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Skip the menu of subheadings on this page.SUMMARY
This paper provides an overview of our impact plan for Kitchen Life 2 (KL2). This paper is for information and discussion.
Background
The aim of KL2 was to identify the key food safety behaviours that occur in household and business kitchens and understand the factors influencing these behaviours. It used motion-sensitive cameras to explore food safety behaviours in 70 households and 31 food business operator (FBO) kitchens. It also captured data using surveys, interviews, photos and fridge and freezer thermometers.
KL2 was commissioned by the FSA in February 2021 and delivered by Basis Social, with support from Leeds University Business School. The project was supported by the ACSS KL2 Working Group and completed in June 2023. It won the Analysis in Government ‘Innovative Methods’ award in 2022 and received an Honourable mention at the 2024 GRSR Awards.
KL2 has delivered three areas of insight, it has:
- identified common risky behaviours in FBOs and households that were previously unknown, or which the FSA had not previously focussed on, such as the reuse of tea-towels/cloths and chopping boards being left around the kitchen.
- provided a more accurate (and quantified) representation of known behaviours and what drives them (such as quantifying the handwashing behaviours with and without soap).
- provided a ‘reality check’ on the way people really live and behave in their kitchens. For example, KL2 shows us that households don’t typically own multiple chopping boards, or fridge thermometers.
We have developed an impact plan identifying and prioritising opportunities for impact and outlining what KL2 team will do to enable these opportunities. This prioritisation has been informed by:1) what is feasible (considering the resource we have, including the re-allocation of the majority of the project-lead’s time to F&Y2, and the extent to which Social Science can inform the work) and 2) impact.
Overview of the Impact Plan
Objectives
Our aim is to maximise the impact of KL2 within the FSA through two key objectives:
- Informing the FSA’s risk assessment process.
- Informing FSA policy making and interventions.
We have prioritised where we can directly impact the FSA’s core areas of risk assessment and policy making to reflect the statutory objective of the FSA- to protect public health from risks which may arise in connection with the consumption of food and otherwise to protect the interests of consumers in relation to food. We have therefore deprioritised the KL2 team working to enable academic impact, in order to focus on this.
Within each of these objectives we have identified opportunities to inform specific upcoming work which is time-sensitive (these are priorities for the coming months) along with ongoing work led by other teams which we can inform as and when opportunities arise. We have also identified areas to scope to see if work is feasible. Where the initial scoping indicates that work could be delivered, we will engage with stakeholders to ascertain demand and as necessary draft a brief for consideration by SLT.
Actions
Table one and two describe the objectives within each area and the actions we will take to meet each objective.
Table One - Informing the FSA’s risk assessment process
|
Objective |
Actions |
|
Inform the upcoming campylobacter strategic risk assessment [delivery expected by December 2024] (Priority)
|
Proactively collaborate with the risk assessment team to identify what data could help and provide KL2 data summaries to support the risk assessment. |
|
Scope the potential to inform risk work on pets [delivery TBC] (Priority)
|
Speak with risk assessment colleagues to scope out how, if at all, KL2 data could be used to inform this work |
|
Scope the potential for additional research that will quantify the risks associated with common behaviours identified in KL2 (such as cloths and chopping boards) [by March 2025.]
|
Draft a brief for a literature review to explore current literature on quantified risks. Following this, as required, we will seek buy-in from stakeholders to scope and commission future research options (such as micro-swabbing or modelling). |
|
Inform the design and delivery of additional, external risk assessment projects of strategic interest to the FSA, such as Quadram’s chopping board/campy experiments, our KL2 PhD studentship and London Met’s research into campy in Butchers. [Ongoing]
|
We will maintain ongoing collaborative relationships with academics and research partners, to inform the design of their research using KL2. We will involve our RA colleagues and encourage them to utilise any new insights in their risk assessments. |
Table 2 - Informing FSA policy making and interventions
|
Objective |
Actions |
|
Amend our business guidance webpages [delivery expected by Autumn 2024] (Priority)
|
Collaborate with the policy, LA engagement and communications team and make suggestions to amend guidance pages, FSA processes and campaigns using the insights from KL2.
|
|
Inform food hygiene comms campaign [dates TBC, expected end of 2024]. (Priority) |
Collaborate with the policy, LA engagement and communications team and make suggestions to inform campaigns using the insights from KL2.
|
|
Scope opportunities to amend FSA business resources and inspection processes (this may include checklists or SFBB packs).
|
Identify relevant stakeholders in business teams, understand the current resources and processes and identify whether it is feasible to make changes. Where changes are possible, make recommendations based on KL2. |
|
Scope out further research requirements in relation to fridge temperatures, including any requirements for interventions in this area. (delivery July 2024) |
Review current literature and KL2 data to identify research gaps in understanding of any problems in this area and or interventions which we may want to test. |
We are developing our work plan for financial year 2024/25 to ascertain what we can deliver and when. This involves prioritising work considering the resource we have available.
Discussion points for ACSS meeting (9th July 2024)
One of our scoping areas is to see if we can quantify the risks associated with common behaviours identified in KL2 (such as cloths and chopping boards). Are ACSS members aware of any research that has done this?
As we have had to focus efforts on achieving internal impact, we would value ACSS views as to how we can increase academic awareness of the project with limited resources. Are there any opportunities for ACSS members to help us promote this evidence source?
Robin May mentioned the possibility of publishing a special edition journal article, drawing on both KL2 and F&Y2 data. We are unsure of what resource this would take. Do ACSS members have any experience/knowledge of publishing special editions, and would they be interested in being involved if it was of interest?