Americans may not approve of how the government performs in a lot of areas these days, but the realm of produce safety doesn’t appear to be one of them.
A consumer research project was conducted by the Alliance for Food and Farming in April unveiled over the summer indicates a 20% decline in levels of concern about produce safety compared to a similar survey in 2016.
Concerns about pesticide residues also have decreased by 10% compared to six years ago.
“The results were pretty gratifying,” said Teresa Thorne, AFF executive director.
“Despite what folks have been saying about distrusting government, when it comes to produce safety, 78% say they’re confident in government regulations and food safety efforts,” she said.
The change of heart could be a facet of the COVID-19 pandemic and consumers focusing on things other than produce safety, she said, “But it’s still a good sign to see that concern decline.”
The survey also reflected confidence in the jobs that farmers are doing to protect the safety of the food supply.
“It’s gratifying to see that people continue to trust the farmers,” Thorne said.
AFF can’t afford to conduct the relatively costly survey every year, she said, “but we do consumer research as frequently as we can.”
The survey became a priority this year because so much has changed since the last study in 2016.
“We really wanted to get a pulse on where consumers are in terms of produce safety,” Thorne said.
AFF has developed a webpage — safefruitsandveggies.com — that highlights the research results. The site includes a white paper about the research and a one-page review of the science-based information shared by survey respondents.
The research project included a series of virtual focus groups followed by a nationwide survey to determine changes in the levels of concern among consumers about safety issues specific to produce, AFF said.
The purpose of the research was to help improve overall information-sharing that will reassure consumers about produce safety.
