Following the publication of the European Food Safety Authority survey on food, I was interested to read that only 29% of UK consumers think that food could damage their health. Of course I’m delighted that consumers are not worrying unnecessarily about food risks, because a lot has been done to improve the safety of food. However, I do wonder whether the food scare stories circulating regularly in the media have made people almost ‘immune’ to all possible food-related risks.
One of the difficult things we face working at the FSA is trying to get the balance right between not wanting to alarm people but also not wanting them to get complacent about the risks associated with food. I worry that if there is a food safety risk in the future, it will be like the boy who cried wolf too many times and consumers will ignore the stories and, more importantly, Agency advice.
What I’d like consumers to know is that food, generally, is pretty safe and the Agency will continue to do all that it can to ensure this situation continues. However, individuals also have a vital role to play in protecting themselves. Simple steps can be taken to cut down the risks from food poisoning, such as cooking food thoroughly, washing hands before preparing food and keeping cooked and uncooked foods separately in the fridge.
So the bottom line is, don’t worry about food but please still follow basic Agency advice on cooking, cleaning, avoiding cross-contamination and chilling.