Imports Are Top Food Safety Concern for Japan's Consumers

The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has released the results of a questionnaire survey on food safety and traceability, conducted in August 2003. This questionnaire, the ministry's first such survey on food consumption, covered 1,021 consumers that live in major cities across Japan, of whom 98.2 percent responded.

Top-of-mind food concerns were related to the safety of imported farm products and ingredients (91.4 percent) followed by the safety of production processes for farm, livestock, and fishery products. Meanwhile, the item that the most respondents were "not concerned" about was food handling at home (62.2 percent).

Respondents of all age groups expressed the greatest concern about "imported fresh vegetables" (72.2 percent). In answering a question on the cost they are willing to bear to verify food safety, such as by monitoring for pesticide residue, the most common response was "up to 10 percent" of the price of goods (34.1 percent).

Regarding another question to gauge awareness of the respondents about food traceability (production records), 36.2 percent of respondents "had a rough idea" of what it is, and 33.7 percent were "not aware of it." Of the respondents, 56.6 percent answered that it was "essential" to expand the use of traceability. When combined with those who answered that it was "rather important," the total of all respondents who felt that traceability is important amounted to 90.8 percent.

In addition, 35.5 percent of respondents answered that producers, distributors and consumers should bear the cost associated with introduction of traceability. Among them, the largest group (42.9 percent) agreed to pay up to 10 percent of the price.



Posted: 2004/09/02 01:55:43 PM
Japanese version