For the first time in its regular surveys on food safety, the US Food and Drug Administration this year hopes to measure American consumers’ attitudes on topics such as foods that are genetically modified, irradiated or grown organically. It also announced plans to ask consumers about their washing practices for fresh fruits and vegetables, their reactions to warning statements on unpasteurised juice and their perceptions about food-borne illness and food allergies. The agency is to poll 2,000 households by telephone, FDA said in a notice published in the Federal Register.
The topics were not covered in 1998 when the agency last surveyed consumers about their food safety awareness, knowledge, concerns and practices. However, FDA said national food safety campaigns and extensive news media attention to food safety issues and outbreaks of food-borne illness likely has changed consumers’ attitudes greatly since the 1998 survey.
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Could undermine mayonnaise?
Reacting to fears the survey’s proposed question about “mayonnaise or salads made with mayonnaise” could perpetuate the myth that mayonnaise is a high risk food, the agency said its questions would clearly distinguish home-made from commercial mayonnaise. “FDA is very much aware that commercial mayonnaise is not a high food safety risk,” the notice said, pledging “commercial mayonnaise will not be maligned in the survey.”
The outline of the survey and the agency’s purpose are described in the official notice at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=00-21007-filed
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