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The topic of pesticide residues in food, on the other
hand, was taken up far more critically by the selected
leading media. For the period of examination from 2003
to 2010, reporting reached its zenith in 2007 and 2008,
after which the number of relevant articles fell again. The
amended Pesticide Regulation came into effect in 2008,
and it may be presumed that the increased level of re-
porting took place in the run-up to these legislation. The
most important topic in 2008 was “Politics and Regula-
tion”, while in other years “Consumer Protection” was
the main issue. The third most frequent topic was “Ap-
plication in Farming”. Most articles were published in the
economics section, followed by the science section. This
means that the topic is placed more in an economic con-
text that has little to do with consumers' real lives. From
the point of view of risk communication, there is the ad-
ditional complicating factor that while the reporting did
discuss a range of health risks, it mentioned virtually no
possible benefits.
In view of the results of two surveys conducted by the
BfR on the subjects of nanotechnology and pesticide
residues, it is fair to assume that the tendencies ob-
served in the media coverage of these subjects have
(partly) influenced consumers' perception of them. The
critical, risk-oriented reporting on pesticides in foods cor-
responds with the highly critical attitude of the popula-
tion. The population rates the benefit of nanotechnology
as high. Thus the argumentation patterns identified in the
media coverage are reflected in the public's perception.
>>
The BfR media analyses show that the media generally
reported on nanotechnology in scientific terms, focusing on
the benefits of products. Reporting on the topic of residues of
plant protection products mostly adopted a critical tone.
Risk Communication
