Consumer attitudes toward food safety issues

The objectives of this study were to survey consumer attitudes about the safety of the food supply in general, relate general concern levels with groups of specific items of concern, regulatory issues and prioritization of food safety funding areas, and to compare these results with results of a similar survey conducted in this lab in 1994. Factor analysis of 360 consumer responses showed six factors underlying the 31 specific items evaluated on individual 5-point scales (1 = no concern, 5 = very strong concern). MANOVA using general level of food safety concern (independent variable) were significant. Univariate tests showed that as general level of concern with food safety increased, so did concern with chemical issues (artificial colors, pesticide residues, hormones, preservatives, irradiated foods, excessive processing of foods, and plastic packaging), spoilage issues (restaurant sanitation, shelf-stable foods, pasteurized foods, refrigerated, prepared foods, improper food preparation, microbiological contamination and nutritional imbalances), health issues (vitamin, calorie, carbohydrate, fat, cholesterol and sugar content), regulatory issues (pesticide safety, fish and imported food inspection, and health labeling of food), deceptive practices (naturally occurring toxins, food ingredients associated with allergies and weight reduction diets advertised as healthy) and information issues (availability of detailed information at stores, markets and restaurants).