Benjamin Chapman, an associate professor of youth, family and community sciences, is working closely with faculty and graduate students in the food science department to increase community awareness of hot topics in food safety by regulating health codes in farmer markets, working with food pantries, preventing break outs of Norovirus, informing restaurants’ patrons of the dangers of undercooked meals and more.
Chapman said his research largely deals with informing the general population about health risks and guiding food vendors to make the safest choices possible.
Chapman said general health issues are important to recognize, but the way health risks are communicated to the public is also a problem within in the community.
One big concern in the food service sector is the way potential risks of undercooked meals are conveyed to people who may order meals such as rare steaks at a restaurant. Chapman’s research deals with whether or not the servers should formally inform customers about the degree to which their meals may be cooked or if a printed disclaimer displayed on the menu under the selection is appropriate.
“Most people just want to go somewhere and order a burger,” Chapman said. “The public should be able to do that with a free conscious but should also be aware of what risks they may be taking.”
After studying and observing farmers markets, Chapman and his colleagues helped create a training system for vendors to help informs sellers about ways to give customers the best produce with the smallest risk of providing bad food. They have worked closely with the Department of Agriculture and Customer Services on this project.
Jacob Meyer, a sophomore in political science and a farmers market shopper, said he thinks Chapman’s work is important because of the wide array of topics associated with food safety and the effects they have on everyday life.
“Food safety is important at all levels from manufacturing to personal cooking,” Meyer said.
Chapman and his colleagues have also been working to get a set of regulations put in place for services such as food pantries. In North Carolina, it is not required to have health standards on food that is being given away .
“These changes in policies need to start from a management standpoint,” Chapman said.
Lately, researchers have been working on containing outbreaks of Norovirus, which is a virus similar to the flu in symptoms. With 20 million cases a year reported, typically in the winter, this virus is easily spread and hard to stamp out, Chapman said.
Since some common cleaning solutions don’t kill this virus, Chapman said he plans to use social media to find areas effected and inform the services in proximity on how to sterilize their facilities and how to prevent more outbreaks.
Chapman and his team hope to weaken the threat of what is commonly misconstrued as the “24-hour flu” at places such as schools and other communal dining areas by using social media to spread information about Norovirus.
Chapman completed all of his degrees at the University of Guelph in Ontario and has been working with NC State for the past six years.
