Monday, September 19, 2011

Poll Reveals Less Concern Over Food Safety


Consumer concern about food safety has declined over the past year even as the number of people experiencing serious food-borne illnesses nearly doubled, according to the Thomson Reuters-NPR Health Poll.

The monthly poll gauges attitudes and opinions on a range of health issues. Food safety was first addressed in July 2010. Survey respondents were asked the same questions in 2011 to chart changes in sentiment.

The latest survey found 57% of consumers were concerned with the safety of their food, down from 61% last year. At the same time, nearly twice as many respondents reported that they recently contracted a serious food-related illness. Among respondents who contracted a food-borne illness in the last 3 months, 22% said it was serious, up from 12% in 2010.

When asked about specific foods, 44% of respondents said they were most concerned with the safety of meat, followed by poultry (30%), seafood (20%) and dairy products (6%)—all lower levels of concern than were seen in the 2010 survey.