Practicing Uncertainty in the Case of Food-borne Disease Outbreaks – The German e. Coli outbreak

By contrast to calculable risks, uncertainty – understood here as the unexpected and non-calculable – has been only rarely researched to date, despite its societal and organizational relevance and omnipresence. Against this background, this study explores how uncertainty is practiced by organizations before, during and after the large-scale outbreak of human infections in the course of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) in Germany in 2011. Hereby, we contribute to the literature by elaborating upon practicing uncertainty, i.e. what recurring social activities are employed to cope with unexpected events and/or the latent danger thereof. Moreover, we identify three overarching practice forms, i.e. inducing, reducing, and ignoring uncertainty. These practice forms are employed intentionally or unintentionally depending upon the differing and conflicting objectives of the organizations affected.