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.
Access the Thomson Reuters library of
poll results or read the food
safety survey results.