Are Consumers 'Bad Science' Junkies?

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 percent 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 (un-pasteurized) 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 percent of samples tested were contaminated with faecal matter. Another study in 1996-97 also showed that 4 percent 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 percent 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.

Read the rest of the survey results here.