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Objectives: Frequent foodborne disease in low-and middleincome countries highlights limitations of food safety policies in reducing exposure to hazardous foods. Limited policy effectiveness reflects neglect of consumers’ perspectives of food safety, which emerge from their past and current interactions with food value chains and their food environments. Policies must align with consumers’ perspectives to address food safety issues effectively. This study aimed to evaluate whether and how policies align with consumers’ perspectives about food safety, drawing on the elucidation of the intents and instruments of food policies.

Methods: Consumers’ concerns and assurances about food safety were identified through thematic analysis of transcripts from three Drivers of Food Choice projects in Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania. Policies with information about food safety were selected (Ghana= 40, Kenya= 54, Tanzania= 44). Policy intents and instruments were compared to consumers’ foodsafety-related concerns and assurances to determine whether and how policies and consumers’ perspectives aligned and whether policies addressing food safety used communication of information as an instrument to provide consumers with assurance about the safety of their foods.