Canadians are more concerned about the long-term effects of chemicals in food than the short-term discomfort of food-caused illness.
Recent focus group studies done across Canada by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency found food safety remained an important issue and many had lingering questions, doubts and even fears.
The findings are consistent with previous food safety studies, said Elaine St. Amour of the CFIA.
“What was a surprise was they were more interested not so much in food-borne illness but what caused long-term illness, such as chemicals and other things that were more serious,” she said.
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Long-term effects from pesticides, chemicals, genetically modified organisms, hormones in meat and dairy products and worries about BSE in the meat supply were of greater concern than food poisoning, which was considered unpleasant, short term and low risk.
St. Amour said most had confidence in Canada’s food supply, feeling standards were higher here than other places in the world.
While confidence dipped sharply at the time of the BSE outbreak, it has since returned to high levels, she said.
Many had little understanding of the role of CFIA inspectors.
“There is still a lot of ambiguity regarding inspection,” said St. Amour.
The study also found Canadians confused about food labels, wondering whether products were made in Canada or just packaged here.
Imported items caused concern along with organics, with many wondering what is organic and how products are regulated.
When shopping, people reported increased tendencies to read labels, especially people with food allergies.
St. Amour said the public is highly influenced by media reports and their concerns are heightened by high profile cases like Walkerton’s water contamination or Western Canada’s BSE outbreak.
“That creates anxieties and the issue becomes top of mind,” she said.
Most felt Canada handled its BSE outbreak well, she said, although there were lingering concerns that such incidents could happen again.
In other findings, researchers learned the public demonstrated low awareness of what regulations exist and who is responsible for what areas.
Most relied on multi-media sources for information.
Food recalls produced mixed feelings, with participants feeling reassured the government was diligent in issuing warnings but also left wondering how unsafe food entered the marketplace. That led to increased anxiety about food safety generally.
The CFIA will use the information to help it better understand what people are thinking about and guide those doing research, creating public policy and developing communication plans.
The federal government has pledged $113 million to food safety programming, St. Amour noted.
