Foodborne illness was the most important food safety issue identified in a consumer survey in Australia and New Zealand. The first Consumer Insights Tracker by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) revealed that nearly half of people had heard about a food recall in the past 12 months. FSANZ surveyed more than 2,000 Australian and New Zealand consumers in April 2023 to understand their trust in and understanding of the food regulation system covering both countries.
The poll focused on trust and confidence in the food system, trust, use, and understanding of food labeling, health and dietary factors affecting food choices, food safety knowledge and behaviors, and new and emerging foods and technologies. Foodborne illness concern Key findings include that 72 percent of people have confidence in the safety of the food supply, with farmers and producers being the most trusted in the food system. The least trusted were manufacturers and processors, while 63 percent trusted government food authorities.
A total of 59 percent of consumers named foodborne illness as their key food safety concern. However, people did not perceive eggs to be a risky food despite them being one of the most common sources of foodborne illness. They identified raw chicken or other poultry as a risky category of food as well as seafood and raw shellfish.
Other worries included chemicals from the environment in food, contamination with foreign objects, hormones, steroids, or antibiotics, and imported.