Animations and food science: A new and effective approach to communicate cheese processing safety

The communication of food safety principles to actors in the informal sector has traditionally been carried out through formal training or demonstrations with human resources. Using a novel approach, an animation was developed to introduce best practices of cheese processing safety and hygiene to processors in the informal sector. The approach used the social cognitive theory (SCT) by engaging principles of visual learning for low literates by developing animations in motion, cell phone technologies and local languages to bridge communication gaps. Twenty-five cheese processors in Ghana were trained using the developed animation with a learner-paced approach. There were significant insights from the processors regarding cheese processing hygiene. The animation provided insight into acceptable modes of introducing important food processing concepts to low literate processors.