Fewer than 20 percent of consumers trust food companies to produce and sell products that are safe and healthy for them to eat, according to a new study by IBM.
Sixty percent of consumers in the 10 largest cities in the U.S said they were concerned about the safety of food they buy.
The large number of well-publicized recalls in recent years appears to have had an effect on consumers' perceptions of food safety. A total of 83 percent of respondents said they could name at least one item recalled over the past two years. Forty-six percent mentioned peanut butter, the most frequently identified recall of the past two years. Spinach was mentioned by roughly 15 percent.
"Across the board, consumers are demanding transparency and more information about the food they purchase to ensure their safety and that of their families," said Guy Blissett, consumer products leader, IBM Institute for Business Value, in a press release. "As the government, industry associations, retailers and manufacturers work through the operational issues associated with ensuring food safety, we can each become more aware and take greater responsibility for the food we purchase."
Seventy-seven percent of consumers told IBM they want more information on the food they purchase.
Seventy-six percent want to know about a product's origin(s). Roughly 76,000 people become ill each year due to food poisoning with 5,000 dying.
"The ability to trace a contaminated product all the
way back to the source of production is key to modernizing our food industry.
It would also allow producers to more precisely identify the source of
a problem in order to improve production practices and could help narrow
the scope of recalls by more quickly identifying the specific plant or
country of origin," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety,
Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Discussion Questions: Are consumers
more concerned about food safety today than in the past? Are the right
steps currently being taken by the food industry and government to create
a significantly safer food supply?