Blog: How food safety is focusing minds of US consumers

Dean Best | 11 June 2008

The salmonella scare sweeping through the US tomato sector could not have come at a more inopportune time.

The outbreak comes as a study from Deloitte shows that US consumers are becoming more wary over the safety of their food – and more willing to boycott products subject to recall.

According to Deloitte, over three-quarters of US consumers are now "more concerned" about the foods they eat than five years ago.

What’s more, over half of shoppers in the US admit to shunning a particular food - albeit temporarily - if the product had been recalled on safety grounds.

News of these trends come as tomato growers in Florida – a state that has been largely cleared of any link to the salmonella outbreak – say the scare is nonetheless already affecting its crop.

The FDA, which is looking for more government funding to spend on food safety control and investigation, will have a busy few days on its hands.