ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll, over one in 10 adults say they or someone in their household have gotten sick from food they bought at the supermarket, a restaurant or elsewhere, yet only a third of those reported the incident. However, most U.S. adults report following food safety warnings to some degree and almost equally large numbers respond by ceasing to purchase food products that are suspected of being unsafe for some period of time. In recent months there have been several instances where food products have been recalled or safety warnings have been issued. These survey findings indicate that food safety warning outreach campaigns to consumers are reasonably effective.
These are some of the results of an online survey of 2,041 U.S. adults, ages 18 and older, conducted by Harris Interactive(R) between December 12 and 14, 2006 for The Wall Street Journal Online's Health Industry Edition (http://www.wsj.com/health).
Of the 13 percent of adults who say they or someone in their household have gotten sick from food that they bought at a supermarket, restaurant or some other place; most do not report it to anyone while just over one-third (35%) reported it to at least one of the following:
-- The place where the food was purchased (20%)
-- Their doctor (17%)
-- Their local government agency (4%).
The poll also reveals:
-- A majority of adults (58%) think the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) should be primarily responsible for setting the rules for food
handling, production and packaging in order to ensure the safety of the
products. Fewer say the local department of health (12%) or the
companies that produce and distribute food products (12%) should bear
the responsibility.
-- 95 percent of adults follow food safety announcements to some extent.
Of these, 67 percent stop eating the product until they learn it is
safe to do so, 15 percent stop eating the product entirely, and equal
numbers stop eating the product for some time, but don't look for
additional information to see when it's safe to eat again (9%), or do
nothing at all (9%).
Food safety surveillance -- among other things -- requires being able to track individuals' purchases back to the locations where a potentially harmful product is purchased, packaged or produced. This requires timely feedback from consumers to those who are responsible for monitoring food safety; which includes local governing agencies and the FDA. These findings suggest that with greater awareness and education, consumers can play a more effective role in this process by reporting instances when they suspect that they or a family member are sick from a food product they purchased.
TABLE 1
FOOD-RELATED ILLNESSES
"In the past year, have you or has anyone in your household gotten sick from
food that you bought at a supermarket, restaurant or some other place?"
Base: All adults
Total
%
Yes, someone got sick 13
No, no one got sick 87
TABLE 2
REPORTING FOOD-RELATED ILLNESSES
"At the time did you do any of the following?"
Base: Someone got sick from food purchased at a supermarket, restaurant or other
Total
%
Report to one or more of the
following (Net) 35
Report this to the place where the
food was purchased 20
See or talk to your doctor about it 17
Report this to the local government
agency 4
None of these 65
Note: Multiple-response question
TABLE 3
SETTING RULES FOR FOOD HANDLING, PRODUCTION AND PACKAGING
"Who do you think should be primarily responsible for setting the rules for food handling, production and packaging in order to ensure the safety of these
products?"
Base: All adults
Total
%
The US Food and Drug Administration 58
Local departments of health 12
The companies that produce, and
distribute food products 12
The restaurants and stores that sell
food products 5
Local departments of sanitation 2
Some other organization 1
None of these 1
Not sure 9
TABLE 4
FOLLOWING FOOD SAFETY WARNINGS AND PRODUCT RECALLS
"Sometimes food products are recalled from the market or warnings are issued
that a product is suspected of making people sick. How closely do you follow
these kinds of food safety announcements?"
Base: All adults
Total
%
Follow food safety announcements (Net) 95
To a great extent 30
To some extent 43
To a minor extent 22
Not at all 5
TABLE 5
ACTING ON FOOD SAFETY WARNINGS "What do you typically do when you hear about a food safety concern or product
recall?"
Base: Follow food safety announcements
Total
%
Stop eating the product (Net) 91
Stop eating the product entirely 15
Stop eating the product until I learn
that it's safe to do so 67
Stop eating the product for some time,
but don't look for additional
information to see when it's safe to eat again 9
Do nothing 9
Methodology
Harris Interactive(R) conducted this online survey within the United States between December 12 and 14, 2006 among a national cross section of 2,041 adults, ages 18 years and over. Figures for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income and region were weighted where necessary to align with population proportions. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, non-response (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.
With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided.
With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With pure probability samples of 2,041 adults, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the results would have a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points. Sampling error for data based on sub-samples would be higher and would vary. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About The Wall Street Journal Online
The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, published by Dow Jones & Company , is the largest paid subscription news site on the Web. Launched in 1996, the Online Journal continues to attract quality subscribers that are at the top of their industries, with 788,000 subscribers world-wide as of Q3, 2006.
The Online Journal offers three industry-specific verticals: the award- winning Health, Media & Marketing and now Law. Health offers authoritative analysis, breaking news and commentary from top industry journalists. Media & Marketing is designed for professionals in the advertising, marketing, entertainment and media industries. Law is designed to provide law firms and attorneys timely information on events and trends important to the legal market. Subscribers to these verticals also get access to the full content of the Online Journal.
In 2005, the Online Journal was awarded a Codie Award for Best Online News Service for the second consecutive year, and its Health Industry Edition was awarded Best Online Science or Technology Service for the third consecutive year. The Wall Street Journal Online network includes CareerJournal.com, OpinionJournal.com, StartupJournal.com, RealEstateJournal.com and CollegeJournal.com.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/.
To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at http://go.hpolsurveys.com/Health.
Press Contacts:
Michelle Soto
Harris Interactive
585-214-7665
Christine Mohan
Dow Jones & Company
212-416-2114
Harris Interactive Inc. 1/07
