| Foodborne illnesses are responsible for enormous sickness and mortality in both developed and developing countries, giving rise to significant public health concerns. Scott (2003) estimates that contaminated food and drinking water cause up to 70% of foodborne illness. The majority of reported outbreaks originated from prepared food and food served at restaurants or other places where food is prepared and served (hereinafter referred to as "food establishments"). For this reason, food safety practices at restaurants should affect the rate of foodborne illness and, therefore, public health.;Some countries, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), have established programs that utilize inspection as an instrument to improve the quality of food establishments. However, there is no empirical verification that inspection of food establishment reduces incidence of foodborne illnesses. One such country, Thailand, has established a campaign called the "Clean Food Good Taste" (CFGT), which aims to improve the quality of food preparation and to promote food safety practices by inspecting food establishments. However, though the campaign was implemented nationwide in 2004, no empirical study has assessed the campaign's effect on public awareness of food safety issues.;This research fills that void by assessing the effectiveness of Thailand's "Clean Food Good Taste" campaign on public awareness of food safety by using the data from public health surveys conducted in Sukhothai Province. Knowledge of what techniques do or do not improve consumer awareness of food safety will help policymakers decrease foodborne illnesses and thereby improve public health status. As this research maybe the pioneer of its kind in connecting the actual data assessing the effectiveness of government campaign and its effect on public perception and awareness, as well as showcasing the benefit of evidence-based policy-making, both public policy makers and public health researchers are able to take advantage from the outcome of this research to result in the betterment of the public health policy. |
