Food safety big concern: poll

By Laura Stone
Postmedia News
August 12, 2010

A majority of Canadians is concerned with the safety of their food and most say they trust food that comes from Canada more than imported food, results of a poll suggest. 

Some 77 per cent of Canadians said they were either "very" or "somewhat" concerned with the safety of the food they eat, up from 66 per cent in 2007, according to results of the Ipsos-Reid poll conducted for Postmedia News. 

Another 87 per cent agree they trust food that comes from Canada more than food from abroad, with 85 per cent of respondents saying they make an effort to buy locally grown and produced food. 

"There is an increased awareness of your own personal well-being and health and the food that you eat," said Sean Simpson, a senior research manager at Ipsos-Reid. 

"Canadians are saying that they think that the food that comes from Canada is safer. They know if it's produced just in the next county over, it hasn't been shipped, it's fresh, it might not have as many preservatives, all of those kinds of things. And that contributes to the overall feeling of well-being and support for the local economy." 

While 91 per cent of Canadians said that, in general, they trust the safety of the food that they eat, the poll shows a growing concern over food safety in general, that reflects an increased concern over food production, said Simpson. "Even if you trust in the food that you eat, in the back of your mind, you're maybe wondering how it's prepared, where it came from, those kinds of things," he said. 

The findings also suggest a majority of Canadians, at 68 per cent, believe Canadian food is safer than imported food. 

While Canadians strive to eat locally, some 37 per cent believe that Canadian food is more expensive than imported food, but almost 70 per cent agree that they are willing to pay more for it. 

A majority, at almost 60 per cent, also agree that importing food from all over the world is bad for the environment. 

The results come on the heels of some high-profile tainted food scandals, most notably the listeriosis outbreak in 2008 at a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto that led to the deaths of 22 people and made hundreds more ill. 

More recently, a July 31 national recall of all ready-to-eat meats manufactured by G. Brandt Meat Packers at its Mississauga, Ont., plant followed 23 confirmed cases of salmonella associated with Brandt in British Columbia and one case in Ontario. 

While the poll does not differentiate between fresh and manufactured food, local food advocates say the results show an increased willingness to eat local or fair-trade products. 

"Even though it seems silly and a bit utopian to imagine small producers being safer, what people like me believe is that it's true. You'll always have some problem, you'll always have contamination, you'll always have some airborne illness. But if it's kept local, its impact is much smaller," said Debbie Field, executive director of the Toronto-based food advocacy group FoodShare. 

Field said that she does not advocate local-only eating, but said Canadians should try to eat in-season produce and avoid manufactured food.

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