Survey: Consumers More Concerned with Chemicals in Food vs. Foodborne Illness
When it comes to food safety concerns, American consumers are most worried about chemicals in food, according to the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation’s 2015 Food and Health Survey. Previously, consumers’ concerns were centered around foodborne illness.
To consumers, the term “chemicals” carries a negative connotation--generally perceived as food ingredients that are man-made. However, foodborne illness is a major concern when it comes to possible risks to consumers.
Findings from IFIC’s survey include:
Some say that the risks posed by pesticides in food isn’t nearly as big an issue as the risk of foodborne illness.
"The risks posed by pesticides in food pale in comparison to the risks from foodborne illness,” says Carl Winter, extension food toxicologist and vice chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California at Davis.
“Our typical exposure to pesticide residues is at levels more than 1 million times lower than levels that, when given to laboratory animals on a daily basis throughout their lifetimes, do not produce any noticeable effects in the animals. This strongly contrasts with the risk of foodborne illness, where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the incidence at 48 million cases per year in the U.S."
The problem is that what consumers believe are risks versus what risks actually do exist are two different things.
“The responses to the ‘most important food safety issue’ question illustrate the difference between perceived risk and actual risk,” says Anthony Flood, senior director of food safety for the IFIC Foundation.