Some Diet Risk Perceptions

How good are we at judging what's risky to our health?

Some of our perceptions of risks in our diet fly in the face of science, according to a new survey by the Food Standards Agency. The survey investigated how consumers perceive the risks associated with various food issues in comparison to the scientific evidence.

Survey results

Bird flu - 90% of people would be concerned about eating chicken from a factory contaminated with bird flu. In reality, there's no scientific evidence to show that the food chain has a role in the contraction of bird flu in humans. People can't catch bird flu through eating properly cooked chicken.

Raw milk - nearly a quarter of people, and particularly those aged over 66, thought that there is a very low risk, or no risk at all, from drinking raw (unpasteurised) milk. The science, however, says that raw milk cannot be guaranteed free from germs, even when produced under the best possible hygiene conditions. A study carried out in 1995-96 showed that 60% of samples tested were contaminated with faecal matter. Another study in 1996-97 also showed that 4% of raw milk contained harmful bacteria that could make people ill. Vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the very young and pregnant women are particularly at risk.

Genetically Modified (GM) food - 65% of people were concerned about the safety of consuming GM food. The scientific evidence tells us that the GM foods currently available are as safe as their non-GM counterparts, and pose no additional risk to the consumer. There is general agreement that foods containing GM material need to be labelled to allow consumers to make a choice.

Trust - people are more likely to trust the advice of a friend or a family member on health issues than scientists, even independent scientists.

The survey did, however, show that there is now little concern about the safety of eating beef. There was good awareness of the risks associated with eating too much salt and of the food safety dangers of eating old leftovers.

GACS meeting

The survey was conducted for the launch of the first meeting of the independent General Advisory Committee on Science (GACS) chaired by leading scientist Professor Colin Blakemore, on Tuesday 11 March. GACS will be holding an open panel debate in the afternoon to look at the question 'Should we trust what scientists say about food?'. Panellists will include the Guardian's 'Bad Science' columnist Ben Goldacre.

Prof Colin Blakemore said: 'This survey is just a snapshot of people's opinions about food and risk but it prompts some interesting questions about how and why we judge some food to be risky. The good news is that people are clearly more aware of the impact of some risks to their health - particularly too much salt in their diet and some food safety issues. However, it also seems to show people are more likely to listen to advice about risk from friends than from scientists. It's clear that scientists need to communicate reliable evidence in a way that everyone can understand and to find constructive ways of engaging with the public on areas of concern. It's a challenge that the Food Standards Agency will have to rise to.'

Notes

The overall purpose of the General Advisory Committee on Science (GACS) is to offer independent challenge and advice on how the Food Standards Agency (FSA) collects and uses scientific evidence. The membership of the committee includes 13 expert members and two lay members.

The FSA survey was designed to assess:

- the level of risk consumers associate with various activities, particularly looking at food related issues
- who consumers would trust to tell them about the risk associated with each activity

A series of questions were placed on the RSGB Omnibus survey, which interviewed a representative (in terms of gender, age, and working status) sample of 2,019 UK adults (aged 16+) between the 20 and 24 February 2008. Data was weighted at the analysis stage to ensure that the sample was demographically representative.

Eating chicken from factory contaminated with bird flu

- 90% associated risk with this activity (73% associated high risk with this activity)
- The Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) Avian (Bird) Influenza Risk Assessment considered this issue in May 2007.

Drinking raw (unpasteurised) milk

- 22% considered this to be no or negligible concern
- Older consumers (particular those aged over 66) were more likely to think there is no/negligible risk (28%)
- 1995-1996 Research by ADAS on behalf of the Department of Health. 1996-1997 Research by Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS). Information on both surveys in paragraph 7-9 of FSA Board Paper.
- Further information also available from FSA Board discussion paper, executive summary, March 2002.

Consuming genetically modified (GM) food

- 65% of people associated risk with this activity
- The Board of the Food Standards Agency stated in June 2000 that it was satisfied that the safety assessment procedures for GM foods were sufficiently robust and rigorous to ensure that approved GM foods were as safe as their non-GM counterparts, and posed no additional risk to the consumer. For more information see the FSA Board Paper.

Eating meat leftovers three days after cooking

- 88% of people associated a risk with this activity
- If you're reheating leftover meat, or other food, always make sure it's piping hot all the way through before you eat it. And don't reheat more than once. Ideally, try to use leftovers within 48 hours. For more information see the Eatwell website.

Eating beef

- 63% of people considered this to be no or negligible concern
- The number of BSE cases in Great Britain has declined from a peak of over 36,000 in 1992 to 53 cases in 2007. Further information is available on the Defra website.

Eating too much salt

- 89% of people associated a risk with this activity
- Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are three times more likely to develop heart disease and stroke and twice as likely to die from these conditions than people who have normal blood pressure levels. High blood pressure contributes to 170,000 deaths in England alone every year. The current, daily average salt consumption of people in the UK is 9g. The Government health recommendation is that people should aim to eat no more than 6g of salt per day. More information on salt can be found on the Agency's Salt website.

For more information on the GACS panel debate go to:

- http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2008/feb/debate

Trust

In the survey consumers were asked 'Who would you trust to tell which of the activities posed the most risk to health?'

Percentage of people rating the person/organisation they would trust as their first, second or third choice:

- health professional (such as a doctor) 81%
- someone close to you 48%
- independent scientist 42%
- the Government 21%
- the media 16%
- a charity 13%
- health insurance company 10%
- supermarkets 7%

Food Standards Agency

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