ABSTRACT
Health-related crises, particularly pandemics, create considerable uncertainty and fear. Addressing this fear, uncertainty, and resulting confusion requires instructional crisis communication that promotes cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning. The primary objective of this instruction is to promote self-protective actions that are proven through empirical evidence to reduce an individual's risk. During the first months of the COVID-19 crisis in the United States, considerable concern and confusion emerged among publics about the safety of their food and the potential contamination of food packaging. Using the IDEA model (emphasizing internalization of risk, explanation of the crisis, distribution of the messages, and action steps for protection), we analyzed the communication efforts of the International Food Information Council (IFIC) to provide accurate, evidence-based instructional information to consumers through social media about the food-related risk of contracting COVID-19. IFIC has over 500,000 followers (@foodinsight on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and more than 3.5 million consumers visit the IFIC website (https://foodinsight.org/) annually. This analysis suggests that instructional crisis communication must be nimble enough to adjust to the changing needs of those at risk and consistent enough to provide viewers with trustworthy and stable guidelines for ongoing safety and protection.
