My research within the CONANX project has two strands, connected by the regulatory object of the expiry date label. On the one hand it explores how consumers, particularly the elderly, use ‘use by’ labels that (in the UK) describe the point at which food is expected to become unsafe. This addresses concerns about rising rates of food poisoning in the elderly and the lack of reliable information about older people’s food practices. It also draws attention to the changing roles of date labels and the consumer in UK food regulation. The second strand of the research focuses on quality, taking as its starting point ‘best-before’ labels that indicate the expected quality lifetime of foods. It examines how the development of date labelling reflects the recent history of food anxieties in the UK and the changing technical and material nature of the food system. The research also explores how consumers are mobilised in establishing 'quality' through work on consumer ‘taste panels’ that explores the process of knowledge production about consumer ‘taste’ and its place in the contemporary definition of food quality. .
My PhD research was conducted in the departments of Science and Technology Studies and Geography at University College London. It focussed on the geographies and futures of science, bringing together work in the sociology of expectations with the geographies of food and technoscience. My thesis is available to read and download here.
Overall, my research focusses on questions related to science, technology (or technoscience) and expertise as they relate to food, pharmaceuticals and consumption. It is particularly oriented by concerns with: