To make the good even better the European Food Information Council has completely revamped its website, www.eufic.org. Reaching in excess of 350,000 visitors a month and voted one of the top 5 websites for credible, nutritional information by the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Good Food magazine in March 2006, the previous site was an established reference. Today, thanks to valuable user insights, the new state-of-the-art site improves on this by offering over 4,000 pages of scientifically reviewed information that guides and informs audiences on food safety as well as health and nutrition in a smart and user-friendly way.
Despite 60% year on year growth in the number of visitors to the site and recognition for the role the site plays in educating Europe’s consumers, this did not prevent EUFIC from wanting to change for the better. This means staying abreast of the latest developments in online communication and interactivity. “Our new website provides information that has been tailored to better meet the different needs of our visitors.”, explains Dr. Josephine Wills, Director General of EUFIC. “ We are a point of reference for consumers, health and nutrition professionals, educators and the media. We are proud to launch our website that is easier to navigate, faster to find relevant information and personalised to individual needs.”
John Lupien, Chairman of the EUFIC Scientific Advisory Board, and past Director of the Food and Nutrition Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), further explained “it is important that consumers have accurate information at their fingertips. This initiative from EUFIC enables consumers to get the science-based information that they need in order to make educated decisions about managing their diet and lifestyle.”
Most of the new features, services and changes on the refurbished site have been inspired by feedback received from users during an extensive online user survey. The site now offers over 4,000 pages of science-based information that are organised by topic for easy navigation and retrieval. To guarantee the correctness, reliability, and balanced nature of the information presented, each article, statement or report is reviewed by independent scientific specialists before publication.
One of the other driving forces behind the revamp was EUFIC’s commitment to the European Commission’s DG SANCO project, the EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. This EU initiative aims to create a stage for concrete actions designed to positively influence diet and lifestyle choices of EU citizens, and to control or reverse current trends in the area of obesity. As an active participant in this EU Platform, EUFIC officially pledged to build on content from the EUFIC website and to devise a consistent strategy for web-based communications that would maximise coherence, outreach and impact to support the EU Platform in achieving its long-term goal.
The refurbished website is available in
5 languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish and German.
New features: Polls & surveys: with access to more than 350,000 visitors per month, EUFIC will regularly pulse user attitudes and opinions to determine the latest thoughts about food and food-related issues. Short summaries of the findings will be published in this section. The first poll asks users about their poultry eating habits since the outbreak of Avian Influenza in Europe.
Food for thought: latest scientific information, questions and answers on topical issues, latest thoughts on risk communication and consumer research.
In addition, EUFIC will be producing and hosting food safety, and nutrition and health Podcasts on www.eufic.org: Interviews with scientific experts and opinion leaders on topical issues. The first podcast is “Managing Sweetness: The role of sugar and intense sweeteners in a balanced diet.”
FOOD TODAY 07/2006
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