Source:  Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 5/11/11

Consumer confidence in food safety is at its highest point in seven years, with 88 percent of shoppers “completely” or “somewhat” confident in the safety of food at the supermarket, according to the Food Marketing Institute's "U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends" report.

More than 90 percent of shoppers agree “strongly” or “somewhat” with the statement that they trust their grocery stores to ensure the food they eat is safe and more than half of shoppers agree strongly.
When asked where they believe the food safety breaches occur, more than half of shoppers named food processing and manufacturing plants.

However, when respondents were asked who is responsible for ensuring food safety, more than half (58 percent) of respondents said they are responsible for the safety of their food, up 7 points from 2010. Next on the list are manufacturers and processors at 35 percent, followed by supermarkets and government agencies at 28 percent each.

Consumers continue to be most comfortable with food grown in the United States versus imported products: 97 percent of shoppers are either “very” or “somewhat” comfortable with U.S. grown food.
The survey also found that men are more comfortable with imported foods compared to women. For example, 76 percent of men are comfortable with food imported from Latin and South America versus 58 percent of women. The survey also found that younger shoppers are significantly more comfortable with imported foods compared to shoppers aged 65 or older.

The higher level of consumer trust in supermarkets to sell safe food resulted in fewer respondents who claim they stopped purchasing certain food items because of food safety concerns. Only 12 percent of shoppers said they no longer purchase an item because of food safety concerns.

While 2011 has not had many high-profile food recalls, consumer confidence in food safety is greatly affected by recall activity, according to the FMI news release.

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