Insights into consumer attitudes about food safety in five countries have been published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Findings come from data collected in November 2019 in Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.
The EFSA commissioned the Eurobarometer study in all EU countries on interest in food safety, awareness and risk perceptions as well as trust in sources of information. Results were published on the first ever World Food Safety Day in 2019.
The survey was carried out in 28 EU member states in April 2019. Some 27,655 respondents from different social and demographic groups were interviewed face-to-face at home in their mother tongue.
The same work was done in five of seven pre-accession countries with help from the Directorate General for Communication of the European Commission. Pre-accession countries are candidates for future membership of the European Union.
Barbara Gallani, head of EFSA’s Communication, Engagement and Cooperation Department, said: “Our cooperation with pre-accession countries has been growing over the years and the completion of this survey marks another important milestone. It is of great value to have insights on food safety perceptions from five additional countries.”
Albania and Montenegro findings
In Albania, from 1,046 interviews, less than one in five were personally interested in the topic of food safety compared to two in five in the Eurobarometer study.
Food safety was second after nutrient content when Albanians were asked about the most important things when buying food. Only one in five agreed that food safety information was often highly technical and complex.
Almost half permanently changed their consumption behavior after hearing or reading about a food risk compared to a third in the Eurobarometer survey. Nearly half in Albania said food safety was the main concern when choosing food compared to only 22 percent in the Eurobarometer survey.
Only 13 percent agreed that there are regulations in place to make sure food is safe. A total of 43 percent agreed with this statement in the Eurobarometer survey.
Albanians had poor knowledge of pesticide residues in food, food poisoning from bacteria, food hygiene and allergic reactions to food and drinks compared to the EU average. They were also not overly concerned about any of these topics.
EU institutions were more trusted by those in Albania than the EU average for information on food risks, as were non-governmental organizations (NGOs), journalists, supermarkets, food industries and celebrities, bloggers and influencers. EU institutions were the main trusted source, followed by scientists and consumer groups.
In Montenegro, from 529 interviews, almost a quarter were interested in food safety compared to two in five in the Eurobarometer study.
Food safety was top when those in Montenegro were asked about the most important things when buying food. Only 16 percent agreed that food safety information was often highly technical and complex compared to the EU average of 36 percent.
A third permanently changed their consumption behavior after hearing about a food risk but more than 40 percent took action only for a certain period. Less than one in four agreed that there are regulations to make sure food is safe.
Those in Montenegro had little knowledge of pesticide residues in food, food poisoning from bacteria, food hygiene and allergic reactions to food and drinks compared to the EU average, but like Albania, they were also not overly concerned about these topics.
Results from North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey
From 1,026 interviews in North Macedonia, the number of people interested in food safety was only slightly below the two in five for the Eurobarometer study.
Food safety was top when people were asked about the most important things when buying food with almost two thirds saying this compared to half in the EU survey.
A third permanently changed consumption behavior after hearing about a food risk and another third took action only for a certain period. Fewer than one in five agreed that food safety information was often highly technical and complex compared to 36 percent in the EU study.
More than 80 percent said safety was the main or among their concerns when buying food compared to two thirds in the Eurobarometer work. One in four agreed that there are regulations to make sure food is safe and almost half said food products are full of harmful substances.
People in North Macedonia were mainly concerned about food poisoning from bacteria, diseases found in animals, pesticide residues in food and food hygiene.
In 1,017 interviews in Serbia less than 30 percent were interested in food safety.
Food safety was joint second with taste and behind cost when people were asked about the most important things when buying food. A third changed consumption behavior for a while after hearing about a food risk and just less than a third were worried but did not change such behavior.
Responses were split between safety being the main or among their concerns when buying food and safety not being an issue as they take it for granted food sold is safe. Those in Serbia were mostly concerned about genetically modified ingredients in food and drinks.
Out of 1,011 interviews in Turkey, only a quarter were interested in food safety.
Food safety was second behind ethics and beliefs when people were asked about the most important things when buying food. Almost half changed consumption behavior for a while after hearing about a food risk.
A total of 60 percent said safety was the main or among their concerns when buying food but a quarter said safety was not an issue as they take it for granted food sold is safe. One in four agreed that there are regulations to make sure food is safe with 40 percent saying food products are full of harmful substances.
Turkish people were mostly concerned about traces of materials that come into contact with food such as plastic packaging, additives like colors, preservatives or flavorings and genetically modified ingredients in food and drinks.
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