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Food safety and the New Zealand public 2007 survey
6 Attitudes to Food Safety
The research asked respondents to rate their agreement to 16 statements about food safety issues using a 1 to 5 scale where 1 meant strongly agree and 5 meant strongly disagree. Seven of these were identical to statements used in 2005, while 9 were either revisions or completely new statements.
Statement Testing - 2007 Using a scale of 1-5 where 1 means you strongly agree and 5 that you strongly disagree, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements. |
1 Strongly Agree % |
2 % |
TOTAL |
3 % |
4 % |
5 Strongly Disagree % |
TOTAL |
Unsure | |
I know to take particular care when handling chicken * |
86 |
9 |
95 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
I would like food outlets to clearly display their hygiene ratings * |
77 |
14 |
91 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
- |
I always check that chicken has been cooked right before I eat it * |
78 |
12 |
90 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
I always check and pay attention to best before dates * |
70 |
18 |
88 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
- |
I always observe the 4Cs of clean, cook, cover, and chill when I am preparing food * |
67 |
19 |
86 |
9 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
If I went to a fundraising dinner I would expect the same level of food safety as a restaurant or other commercial outlet |
66 |
19 |
85 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
- |
I am concerned about food safety standards for imported foods * |
48 |
24 |
72 |
17 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
1 |
* Questions that were new in 2007 or substantially revised. Base: All respondents | ||||||||
I find product quality labels saying things like ‘SPCA approved eggs’ and ‘free of added hormones’ useful* |
45 |
22 |
67 |
14 |
8 |
7 |
15 |
4 |
Most of the highest quality food produced in New Zealand is exported |
41 |
24 |
65 |
18 |
5 |
5 |
10 |
7 |
I like to study the ingredient labels on food very carefully |
36 |
22 |
58 |
22 |
11 |
9 |
20 |
- |
I think obesity is our biggest food safety problem* |
33 |
21 |
54 |
21 |
12 |
11 |
23 |
2 |
I would like to eat organic food but its too expensive |
33 |
21 |
54 |
21 |
12 |
11 |
23 |
2 |
Having government regulations on food handling practices at fundraising BBQs or food stalls is over the top |
23 |
19 |
42 |
25 |
16 |
14 |
30 |
3 |
People that eat mainly organic food will be healthier |
19 |
16 |
35 |
26 |
16 |
19 |
35 |
4 |
Volunteer events, like school galas don’t need government food safety regulations** |
20 |
14 |
34 |
22 |
19 |
22 |
41 |
3 |
A little bit of food related illness every now and then is good as it builds your immunity |
9 |
10 |
19 |
18 |
19 |
40 |
59 |
4 |
** Previously asked about ‘meals on wheels’. Base: All respondents | ||||||||
6.1 Chicken
The message about the dangers of chicken seems to have well and truly got through, with 95% of respondents claiming that they knew to take particular care when handling chicken (‘1’ or ‘2’ on the 5 point scale). Agreement with this statement amongst parents of pre-school children (94%) and school age children (97%) was solid. Similarly, 90% of respondents claimed that they always checked that chicken was cooked right through before they ate it.
Statement Testing – 2007: Chicken Using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means you strongly agree and 5 that you strongly disagree, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements. |
1 Strongly Agree % |
2 % |
TOTAL |
3 % |
4 % |
5 Strongly Disagree % |
TOTAL 4 + 5 % |
Unsure | |
I know to take particular care when handling chicken* |
86 |
9 |
95 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
I always check that chicken has been cooked right before I eat it* |
78 |
12 |
90 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
*Questions that were new in 2007 or substantially revised. Base: All respondents | ||||||||
6.2 Good home food safety practices
Other food safety protection issues also came through strongly, with 88% declaring that they always paid attention to best before dates and 86% saying that they always observed the ‘four C’s’. Income did not seem to be a particularly important factor in terms of whether or not people claimed to observe best before dates, with 73% of those with personal incomes of $15,000 or below strongly agreeing with this statement compared with 65% of those on personal incomes above $70,000.
Statement Testing – 2007: Good Home Food Safety Practices. Using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means you strongly agree and 5 that you strongly disagree, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements. |
1 Strongly Agree % |
2 % |
TOTAL |
3 % |
4 % |
5 Strongly Disagree % |
TOTAL |
Unsure | |
I always check and pay attention to best before dates* |
70 |
18 |
88 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
- |
I always observe the 4Cs of clean, cook, cover and chill when I am preparing food’ |
67 |
19 |
86 |
9 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
*Questions that were new in 2007 or substantially revised. Base: All respondents | ||||||||
6.3 Obesity
Given that obesity is not in actual fact a food safety issue in the conventional sense (which is more related to food related illnesses), there was solid agreement with the suggestion that obesity is New Zealand‟s biggest food safety problem. 55% of respondents agreed with this statement, including 33% who strongly agreed. Ironically, 40% of those who said that they drove everywhere they went strongly agreed with this statement.
Statement Testing – 2007: Obesity Using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means strongly agree and 5 that you strongly disagree, how much do you agree with the following statements. |
1 Strongly Agree % |
2 % |
TOTAL |
3 % |
4% |
5 Strongly Disagree % |
TOTAL |
Unsure | |
I think obesity is our biggest food safety problem* |
33 |
22 |
55 |
21 |
11 |
11 |
22 |
2 |
*Questions that were new in 2007 or substantially revised. Base: All respondents | ||||||||
6.4 Labelling
There was a good level of support for clear food safety labelling. 91% said that they would like food outlets to clearly display their hygiene ratings, while 67% said that they found product quality labels very useful.
Statement Testing – 2007: Food Labels Using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means you strongly agree and 5 that you strongly disagree, how much do you agree with the following statements. |
1 Strongly Agree % |
2 % |
TOTAL |
3 % |
4 % |
5 Strongly Disagree % |
TOTAL |
Unsure | |
I would like food outlets to clearly display their hygiene ratings* |
77 |
14 |
91 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
- |
I find product quality labels saying things like ‘SPCA approved eggs’ and ‘free of added hormones’ useful* |
45 |
22 |
67 |
14 |
8 |
7 |
15 |
4 |
I like to study the ingredient labels of food very carefully |
36 |
22 |
58 |
22 |
11 |
9 |
20 |
- |
*Questions that were new in 2007 or substantially revised. Base: All respondents | ||||||||
58% of respondents claimed that they liked to study the ingredient labels on food carefully. Groups particularly likely to agree with this statement included vegetarians/ vegans (83% of n=48), those who needed to watch what they ate for health reasons (72% agree) and those who had food allergies (70%). One less obvious group who were relatively likely to agree with this statement was those who said that they kept up with fashion trends (67% agree), and this does not really seem to be related to the age of the respondents in this category.
48% of New Zealanders described the information provided on food labels as easy to understand, down 4% since 2005.
EASE OF UNDERSTANDING INFORMATION PROVIDED ON FOOD LABELS Using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means easy to understand and 5 means difficult to understand, how easy or difficult do you find it is to understand information provided on food labels? | |||
| |||
August 2003 % |
May 2005 % |
July 2007 % | |
1 Easy to understand |
26 |
29 |
20 |
2 |
26 |
23 |
28 |
TOTAL 1 + 2 |
52 |
52 |
48 |
3 |
25 |
25 |
30 |
4 |
12 |
14 |
14 |
5 Difficult to understand |
9 |
8 |
7 |
TOTAL 4 + 5 |
21 |
22 |
21 |
Unsure |
2 |
1 |
1 |
A majority (57%) of those who said that they liked to study ingredient labels said that they found them easy to understand, while only 16% thought that they were difficult.
|
INFORMATION PROVIDED ON FOOD LABELS | |||
‘I like to study the ingredient labels on food very carefully’ | |||
Agree [n=437] % |
Disagree [n=147] % | ||
‘Using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means easy to understand and 5 means difficult to understand, how easy or difficult do you find it is to understand information provided on food labels?’ |
Total easy to understand |
57 |
32 |
Total difficult to understand |
16 |
33 | |
Neutral/ Unsure |
27 |
29 | |
Total |
100 |
100 | |
6.5 Food safety at fundraisers
A substantial majority (85%) of respondents agreed that they would expect the same level of food safety at a fund raising dinner as they would at a restaurant or other commercial outlet, up 1% on 2005.
Despite the strong expectation that food safety standards would be the same at fundraising events, 42% of respondents agreed that ‘having Government regulations on food handling practices at fund raising barbeques or food stalls is over the top’. This was 8% higher than the result recorded in 2005, an increase that could well be related to the recent amendment of Section 59 of the Crimes Act and subsequent comments about ‘nanny state’.
81% of those who believed that ‘having government regulations on food handling practices at fund raising barbeques or food stalls is over the top’ also said that they would expect the same level of food safety if they went to a fundraising dinner as if they were at a commercial outlet.
|
ATTITUDES TO FOOD SAFETY AT FUNDRAISERS | |||
‘Having government regulations on food handling practices at fund raising barbeques or food stalls is over the top’ | |||
Agree [n=315] % |
Disagree [n=225] % | ||
‘If I went to a fund raising dinner I would expect the same level of food safety as at a restaurant or other commercial outlet’ |
Agree |
81 |
91 |
Disagree |
7 |
5 | |
Neutral/ Unsure |
12 |
4 | |
Total |
100 |
100 | |
Similarly, 34% of respondents believed that volunteer events such as school galas do not need government food safety revelation. This was 16% above the 2005 result, an increase which seems likely to be a result of both a change in the example of a volunteer event (from ‘meals on wheels’ to ‘school galas) and Section 59.
Similarly, 80% of those who agreed that „volunteer events like school galas don't need government food safety regulation also stated that they would expect the same level of food safety if they went to a fundraising dinner at a commercial outlet.
ATTITUDES TO FOOD SAFETY AT FUNDRAISERS | |||
‘Volunteer events, like school galas don't need government food safety regulation’ | |||
Agree [n=255] % |
Disagree [n=308] % | ||
‘If I went to a fund raising dinner I would expect the same level of food safety as at a restaurant or other commercial outlet’ |
Agree |
80 |
91 |
Disagree |
6 |
4 | |
Neutral/ Unsure |
14 |
5 | |
Total |
100 |
100 | |
6.6 Export and organic food quality
65% of New Zealanders agreed with the suggestion that most of the highest quality food in New Zealand was exported, up 3% since 2005. Those who regularly eat at restaurants were relatively unlikely to agree with this statement (56% agree).
EXPORT FOOD QUALITY – MOST OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY FOOD PRODUCED IN NEW ZEALAND IS EXPORTED Using a scale of 1-5 where 1 means you strongly agree and 5 that you strongly disagree, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements. Most of the highest quality food produced in New Zealand is exported | |||
| |||
August 2003 % |
May 2005 % |
July 2007 % | |
1 Strongly agree |
44 |
40 |
41 |
2 |
21 |
22 |
24 |
TOTAL AGREE 1 + 2 |
65 |
62 |
65 |
3 |
13 |
15 |
18 |
4 |
7 |
8 |
5 |
5 Strongly disagree |
7 |
7 |
5 |
TOTAL DISAGREE 4 + 5 |
14 |
15 |
10 |
Unsure |
8 |
8 |
7 |
The proportion of respondents saying that they would like to eat organic food if it were less expensive rose 8% to 54%. 44% of vegetarians and vegans (n=48) strongly agreed with this statement, compared with 33% of all respondents.
ORGANIC FOOD QUALITY – I WOULD LIKE TO EAT ORGANIC FOOD BUT ITS TOO EXPENSIVE Using a scale of 1-5 where 1 means you strongly agree and 5 that you strongly disagree, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements. I would like to eat organic food but its too expensive | |||
| |||
August 2003 % |
May 2005 % |
July 2007 % | |
1 Strongly agree |
30 |
30 |
33 |
2 |
17 |
16 |
21 |
TOTAL AGREE 1 + 2 |
47 |
46 |
54 |
3 |
23 |
21 |
21 |
4 |
13 |
13 |
12 |
5 Strongly disagree |
14 |
17 |
11 |
TOTAL DISAGREE 4 + 5 |
27 |
30 |
23 |
Unsure |
3 |
3 |
2 |
There was also an increase in the proportion who believed that people who ate organic food would be healthier, which rose 7% to 35%. Vegetarians and vegans (n=48) were especially likely to agree with this statement (60% 1 or 2 on the 5 point scale).
New Zealand Food Safety Authority
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