Most of us have been put in a situation where we heard that a certain type of food has been contaminated in some way. Usually, we try to be more aware of what we buy so that we do not end up eating something that will get us sick. However, a recent survey done by Dalhousie University shows that this is not the case for Canadians.
What are Canadians doing?
The study showed that Canadians are aware that food may be contaminated to a certain degree but they feel that it is not their responsibility to keep their selves safe. What do we mean by this? Well, the study found out that only 18% of the people that were interviewed were hyper aware of how they handled their food. For those that do not know, most food gets contaminated while it is prepared in the consumer’s kitchen.
It is even more concerning to see that 83% of the people that were part of this study agreed to the statement that food gets contaminated before they reach their home.
The main goal of this study was to see how Canadians react to food recalls. 1,000 Canadians participated in this study. In order to get conclusive result, researchers put in a trick question that addressed whether or not they were aware of four food recalls that happened recently. What’s the catch? The potato recall was one of the four recalls and it was fake information. The problem? Most people responded that they remembered such a recall taking place. Moreover, they believed that the number of food recalls was smaller.
How could this be fixed?
Well, in order for this situation to be fixed Canadian authorities need to spend more time trying to educate citizens on how food gets recalled and how one should handle food after it is bought so that they do not contaminate it.