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Food safety and the New Zealand public 2007 survey
8 Food Safety Monitoring
Confidence in the enforcement of New Zealand’s food safety standards remained muted. 36% rated their confidence as 1or 2 on a 5 point scale where 1 meant very confident (down 5%), while 24% rated their confidence as either a 4 or a 5 (unchanged). 39% scored their level of confidence as 3out of 5, up 6% since 2005.
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CONFIDENCE IN FOOD SAFETY STANDARDS BEING STRICTLY MONITORED AND ENFORCED IN NEW ZEALAND Using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means you are very confident and 5 you are not confident at all, how confident are you that food safety standards are being strictly monitored and enforced in New Zealand? | |||
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August 2003 % |
May 2005 % |
July 2007 % | |
1 Very confident |
10 |
11 |
9 |
2 |
24 |
30 |
27 |
TOTAL CONFIDENT 1 + 2 |
34 |
41 |
36 |
3 |
38 |
33 |
39 |
4 |
17 |
14 |
14 |
5 Not confident at all |
9 |
10 |
10 |
TOTAL NOT CONFIDENT 4 + 5 |
26 |
24 |
24 |
Unsure |
2 |
2 |
1 |
81% of respondents claimed to have heard of NZFSA, up 5% since 2005. Knowledge remains limited, however, with only 21% of those who have heard of NZFSA saying that they knew a lot or a fair amount about it. Declared awareness was higher amongst women (84%) than amongst men (78%), while the small sub-sample of Christchurch residents (n=83) were also comparatively likely to claim to have heard of the NZFSA (88% declared awareness). Referring back to the previous question, 42% of those who had heard of the NZFSA and said that they knew a lot or a fair amount about it rated their confidence in the way food safety standards were enforced in New Zealand as 1or 2 out of 5. This compares with 32% of those who admitted that they had not heard of NZFSA.
AWARENESS OF THE NEW ZEALAND FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY Have you heard of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority? | |||
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August 2003 % |
May 2005 % |
July 2007 % | |
Yes |
74 |
76 |
81 |
No |
24 |
23 |
18 |
Unsure |
2 |
1 |
1 |
KNOWLEDGE OF THE NEW ZEALAND FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY [Those who have heard of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority were asked:} How much do you know about the New Zealand Food Safety Authority – a lot, a fair amount, not that much or hardly anything? | |||
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August 2003 [n=554] % |
May 2005 [n=573] % |
July 2007 [n=607] % | |
A lot |
2 |
2 |
4 |
A fair amount |
14 |
18 |
17 |
TOTAL A LOT + A FAIR AMOUNT |
16 |
20 |
21 |
Not that much |
56 |
57 |
51 |
Hardly anything |
27 |
23 |
28 |
TOTAL NOT THAT MUCH + HARDLY ANYTHING |
83 |
80 |
79 |
Unsure |
1 |
- |
- |
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Base 2007: 81% of respondents who said that they have heard of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority; [n=607] Base 2005: 76% of respondents who said that they have heard of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority; [n=573] Base 2003: 74% of respondents who said that they have heard of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority; [n=554] | |||
Despite this rise in prompted awareness, there was little movement in the proportion correctly choosing NZFSA as the agency responsible for food safety standards in New Zealand on an unprompted question. 13% nominated NZFSA (unchanged), compared with 30% mentioning the Government generally and 22% nominating the Ministry of Health.
ORGANISATION NOMINATED AS BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR FOOD SAFETY STANDARDS IN NEW ZEALAND Who do you think is responsible for food safety standards in New Zealand? | |||
August 2003 % |
May 2005 % |
July 2007 % | |
GOVERNMENT – GENERAL |
30.5 |
28.5 |
30.2 |
MINISTRY OF HEALTH |
30.0 |
28.7 |
22.2 |
NEW ZEALAND FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY |
8.7 |
12.9 |
12.5 |
COUNCILS |
7.5 |
10.7 |
10.5 |
FOOD VENDORS/ OPERATORS/ RETAILERS |
3.9 |
4.8 |
5.7 |
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY |
9.7 |
6.9 |
4.3 |
INDIVIDUAL CONSUMERS |
4.0 |
3.5 |
4.3 |
“EVERYONE IS RESPONSIBLE” |
- |
- |
3.9 |
MANUFACTURERS/ PRODUCERS/ PROCESSORS |
4.1 |
6.0 |
3.6 |
FOOD HANDLERS/ COOKS |
2.8 |
3.7 |
1.9 |
DISTRIBUTERS/ IMPORTERS OF FOOD |
- |
- |
0.6 |
GROWERS/ FARMERS |
1.7 |
1.6 |
0.5 |
OTHER A watch-dog type agency, not sure of name (1.7%), Health Boards/ Department of Health (0.8%), Health Inspectors (0.8%), The Food Industries (0.8%), OSH (0.5%), Firms that Market the Food (0.4%), Quality Control people (0.3%), Processors (0.3%), People who do the research/ food scientists (0.3%), The Department of Labour (0.2%), Environmental Regulatory Management Agency (ERMA) (0.1%), AgResearch (0.1%), Ministry of Agriculture (0.1%), Ministry of Consumer Affairs/ consumer magazine (0.1%) |
1.2 |
0.5 |
6.5 |
UNSURE |
16.5 |
14.9 |
14.8 |
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Base: All respondents; multiple response | |||
One in three respondents who were aware of the NZFSA claimed to have heard something about it over the last few months (equates to one in four of all respondents). This was unchanged since 2005.
READ, SEEN OR HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THE NEW ZEALAND FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY [Those who have heard of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority were asked:} Have you read, seen or heard anything about the New Zealand Food Safety Authority in the media over the past few months? | |||
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August 2003 [n=554] % |
May 2005 [n=573] % |
July 2007 [n=607] % | |
Yes |
41 |
33 |
33 |
No |
50 |
57 |
60 |
Unsure |
9 |
10 |
7 |
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Base 2007: 81% of respondents who said that they have heard of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority; [n=607] Base 2005: 76% of respondents who said that they have heard of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority; [n=573] Base 2003: 74% of respondents who said that they have heard of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority; [n=554] | |||
Respondents who declared that they had heard news stories related to the NZFSA over the last few months were asked what they had seen. One should always be careful with comparing the responses to open-ended questions over time, particularly in this case as the size of the base of whom the question is asked (people who say that they have heard from the NZFSA) varies each year. At the same time, it does provide an indication of the issues New Zealanders have been following.
The most striking change since 2003 is the substantial decline in the numbers mentioning issues related to genetic modification. In 2003, 34% of those who had heard from NZFSA said that this was in relation to genetic modification, but by 2007 this had fallen to 12%.
Another fairly substantial change is an increase in the number mentioning food related illnesses, which was driven almost entirely by increased references to chickens and campylobacter. No respondent mentioned this issue specifically in either 2003 or 2005, but around 9% nominated it in 2007. There has also been a shift from mentions of specific issues, such as genetic modification, to more general comments about NZFSA reporting on general hygiene practices etc.
After increasing dramatically in the 2005 survey, the number mentioning food safety inspectors fell from 26% to 10% in 2007.
TYPES OF INFORMATION READ, SEEN OR HEARD ABOUT THE NEW ZEALAND FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY (Trendline) [Respondents who said that they have heard of the NZFSA AND have read, seen or heard about the New Zealand Food Safety Authority in the last few months were asked:] What have you read, seen or heard about the New Zealand Food Safety Authority in the media in the last few months? | |||
August 2003 % |
May 2005 % |
July 2007 % | |
INFORMATION ON FOOD SAFETY (GENERAL) |
3.1 |
3.6 |
12.7 |
GENETIC MODIFICATION |
33.8 |
13.6 |
11.8 |
ROLE OF NZFSA |
3.5 |
5.2 |
11.6 |
FOOD RELATED ILLNESSES |
3.6 |
0.5 |
11.0 |
HYGIENE & SAFETY (GENERAL) |
3.9 |
1.0 |
10.7 |
FOOD STANDARDS (GENERAL) |
5.7 |
11.5 |
10.5 |
SAFETY OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOOD |
2.2 |
4.1 |
10.0 |
INSPECTORS |
6.6 |
25.5 |
9.5 |
TELEVISION |
4.4 |
11.5 |
9.2 |
FOOD STANDARDS AUSTRALIA & NZ |
5.2 |
3.1 |
8.7 |
OTHER INFORMATION SOURCES |
1.8 |
6.8 |
7.3 |
RESEARCH |
4.0 |
- |
3.3 |
PACKAGING & LABELLING |
2.6 |
2.1 |
2.2 |
FISHING & FARMING PRACTICES |
5.7 |
3.1 |
1.8 |
UNSURE |
17.1 |
23.4 |
19.7 |
Base: 33% of respondents who said that they have heard about the NZFSA AND have read, seen or heard about the New Zealand Food Safety Authority in the last few months; n=198; multiple response | |||
The primary sources of information on food safety issues continued to be newspapers (40%), TV programmes (30%), and magazines (15%), although all these sources have become less popular since 2003. Instead, respondents have become more likely to say they receive information over the internet (12%) or through work (11%).
SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON FOOD SAFETY ISSUES Where do you get most of your information on food safety issues? | |||
August 2003 % |
May 2005 % |
July 2007 % | |
NEWSPAPERS |
49.5 |
44.1 |
40.2 |
TV PROGRAMMES |
36.9 |
31.5 |
30.4 |
MAGAZINES |
19.7 |
18.3 |
14.7 |
INTERNET |
3.9 |
7.2 |
11.9 |
WORK EXPERIENCE (WORK WITH FOOD) |
5.2 |
5.5 |
11.2 |
WORD OF MOUTH Word of mouth (6.2%), Relatives (2.8%), Workplace (0.7%) |
8.2 |
10.1 |
9.7 |
COMMON SENSE |
3.3 |
4.0 |
5.4 |
SCHOOL/ UNIVERSITY/ COURSES |
3.6 |
3.7 |
3.9 |
RADIO |
4.8 |
4.7 |
3.4 |
LEAFLETS |
1.6 |
2.0 |
3.4 |
SUPERMARKETS |
1.2 |
1.6 |
1.5 |
FOOD LABELS |
2.5 |
1.6 |
1.3 |
BOOKS |
1.6 |
1.5 |
1 |
OTHER The media (2.5%), Health department (1.2%), Regional Council (1.1%), Medical Clinic / Health professional (0.6%), Midwife/ Pregnancy Health information providers (0.5%), Scientific Literature (0.4%), Conference (0.4%), Information displayed in a restaurant (0.4%), Billboards (0.3%), ANZFA (0.1%), Farming organisation (0.1%), Government Legislation (0.1%), Library (0.1%) |
2.0 |
3.9 |
7.8 |
UNSURE |
4.5 |
7.1 |
5.5 |
Base: All respondents Multiple response | |||
New Zealand Food Safety Authority
68-86 Jervois Quay
PO Box 2835
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 2500
Fax: +64 4 894 2501
Contact
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