Survey reveals disparities in food safety perceptions among European countries

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released the latest findings from its Eurobarometer survey on food safety from five out of seven EU pre-accession countries—those countries that have applied to join the European Union but have not yet been accepted. The Eurobarometer study examines issues such as interest in food safety, awareness, and risk perceptions as well as trust in different sources of information.

The survey was carried out by the research company Kantar in the 28 EU member states during April 9–26, 2019. Some 27,655 respondents from different social and demographic groups were interviewed face-to-face at home in their native language. Additional data were collected during November 2019 in five of the pre-accession countries—Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Turkey.

Compared to the findings of the 28 EU member states, the five pre-accession countries showed a lower personal interest in the topic of food safety. While 41% of consumers, on average, in the European Union responded that they have a personal interest in food safety, only 18% responded likewise in Albania—the lowest rate in the five pre-accession countries. Interestingly, 58% of Albanian consumers cited food safety as an area of most importance to them when purchasing food, compared with 50% of those in the EU member states. More than 50% of consumers in the five pre-accession countries cited food safety as an issue of most importance when shopping for food.

Consumers in Turkey, Montenegro, and Albania responded with a significantly lower level of awareness than those in the EU member states surrounding topics such as “environment pollutants in fish, meat, or dairy” (64% in EU, 25% in Turkey and Montenegro, and 11% in Albania) and “allergic reactions to food or drinks” (65% in EU, 24% in Turkey, 26% in Montenegro, and 9% in Albania). The survey also revealed that 41% of consumers in Albania are concerned about genome editing in food, compared with only 4% of EU consumers.

“Our cooperation with pre-accession countries has been growing over the years, and the completion of this survey marks another important milestone. It is of great value to have insights on food safety perceptions from five additional countries,” said Barbara Gallani, head of EFSA’s Communication, Engagement, and Cooperation Department, in an agency press release.

Factsheets by country

Eurobarometer report (pdf; excludes pre-accession countries)