Two recent consumer surveys show record lows in confidence in the safety of America’s food supply.
A Gallup poll shows that 28 percent of respondents don’t have much confidence, and 14 percent have “none at all.”
In a survey by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), the research questions focused on selected microbial issues, such as the presence of E. coli and heavy metals in food, as the top concerns. Specifically, nearly 1 in 3 Americans are “extremely concerned” about E. coli in ground beef, while 29 percent are extremely concerned about lead, cadmium and arsenic in baby food, while 27 percent express extreme concern about mercury in seafood.
Details from the Gallup poll
Data for the food safety questions was collected as part of Gallup’s annual Consumption Habits survey, conducted July 1 to 21. It showed a record low in Gallup’s trend going back to 1999.
About 57 percent of U.S. adults who responded said they have a lot or a fair amount of confidence in the government’s ability to keep the food supply safe. That’s down 11 percentage points compared to Gallup’s 2019 figures.
From 1999 to 2006, roughly 80 percent of Americans believed that the government would guarantee food safety. After the Salmonella outbreak in 2007, this dropped to 70 percent. U.S. confidence hovered around that level in 2008 and 2019 before falling this year.
One of the biggest drops in confidence was seen among parents of young children, with 49 percent expressing confidence in government food provision, up from 67 percent in 2019. Sixty percent of those who are not parents of young children maintain confidence, compared by 68 percent in 2019.
One survey question was about the safety of food in supermarkets. Americans are less confident now than they were five years ago that the food available in most grocery stores is safe to eat. About 72 percent of respondents said they were very or somewhat confident, up from 81 percent in 2019.
Income and education levels showed a difference in confidence, with wealthier and better educated people having greater confidence in food safety. Adults with an annual household income of $100,000 or more (78 percent) and college graduates (75 percent) are two of the subgroups most likely to trust food safety in grocery stores.
Younger people and those with less education are among the people who have the least confidence in food safety in supermarkets. Among adults ages 18 to 34, 62 percent say they are optimistic about the safety of food at the grocery store, as do 69 percent of those with a high school education or less. Both figures are lower than Gallup’s last readings for these subgroups in 2019, when 74 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds and 75 percent with a high school education or less expressed confidence in food safety in stores.
Food recalls appear to have affected people’s attitudes towards food safety. The Food and Drug Administration issued 19 product recalls in June 2024, just before the Gallup poll. Thirty-seven percent of adults report having thrown away or returned food in the past year due to a product recall or food safety advisory.
Just over half, 53 percent, have avoided buying certain brands or types of food because of a recall or advisory, and 26 percent say they are concerned they may have eaten contaminated food.
“When Gallup last asked about food safety in 2019, the U.S. government had issued more than 330 food recalls that year, including the FDA’s viral announcement that romaine lettuce was linked to an outbreak of E. coli infections. In the first six months of 2024, 578 food products were recalled,” Gallup said.
Details from the IFIC poll
The International Food Information Council (IFIC) has commissioned an online survey of U.S. consumers to measure knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about the safety of food ingredients. Data was collected from June 6 to 10, 2024 through an online survey of 1,000 Americans aged 18 to 80 and older, and responses were weighted to ensure proportionate results.
The research shows that consumer confidence has reached an all-time low. Compared to the Gallup poll, the IFIC poll focused more on ingredients.
When presented with a list of 11 ingredients, consumers reported that dyes/dyes are the most commonly avoided, with 35 percent choosing to actively avoid them. This was closely followed by sugar substitutes at 34 percent, MSG at 29 percent, bioengineered/GMO ingredients at 27 percent and preservatives at 25 percent.
When presented with a list of thirteen foods and drinks, consumers rank ultra-processed foods as the foods they avoid most, at 41 percent. Plant-based meat alternatives take second place at 37 percent, followed by processed meats at 29 percent, and plant-based dairy alternatives at 27 percent.
“Interestingly, there is not always a ‘glass half empty’ mentality. We find that Americans are more likely to consider the health benefits of what they eat and drink (30 percent) than the health risks (8 percent),” explains IFIC Senior Director, Food Ingredient Communications, Tony Flood.
“While we weren’t surprised that certain ingredients or foods have a less than desirable reputation, we were surprised that 1 in 4 Americans simply don’t think about the health risks or health benefits of what they eat or drink,” Flood said.
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