KEY POINTS:
Nearly three in five people are now reading ingredients labels as New Zealanders grow increasingly concerned over food safety.
A report commissioned by the Food Safety Authority which was released yesterday has shown a 10 per cent increase in the number of people likely to study ingredients labels than was indicated in a similar survey in 2003.
The telephone poll of 750 people conducted by UMR Research also found that more people thought food safety standards had declined.
Food safety campaigner and Green MP Sue Kedgley said the survey results were not a surprise.
"They certainly validate what I pick up around New Zealand.
"There's a growing disquiet about some of the ingredients in highly processed food and concern about the amounts of sugar, fat and salt."
Food safety scandals in China had also undermined people's confidence, she said.
"People, perhaps, don't just have that blind trust they probably once had that anything that's on sale in the supermarket must be safe."
She said it bolstered calls for more comprehensive food labelling. Her petition seeking country of origin labelling already has more than 30,000 signatures.
"They're just rolling in. It's really touched a chord - people do want it and I would hope that the Government listens to consumers and responds to the petition."
But Food Safety Authority deputy chief executive Sandra Daly said the results could not be interpreted as supportive of country-of-origin labelling.
She attributed increased awareness and interest in nutrition as the main factor in the rise in people reading labels. The results were generally in line with surveys conducted in 2003 and 2005.
While 85 per cent of respondents cited chicken as a primary food safety concern, 95 per cent said they were aware of the need for special care when cooking and handling poultry, and always checked to ensure it had been cooked properly before eating.
Nearly one in five also agreed with the statement, "a little bit of food-related illness every now and then is good as it builds your immunity" - more than double the figure from 2003. The number who disagreed with the statement also dropped by 20 per cent.
Ms Daly said the finding was "surprising" but the survey did not probe the reason for people's opinions on that matter.
Overall, three-quarters of respondents cited salmonella as a food safety issue that most concerned them, followed by antibiotics in meat (67 per cent) and campylobacter (63 per cent).
Those concerned about the use of pesticides to grow food and genetically modified foods remained consistent at 62 per cent and 56 per cent respectively.
While 42 per cent believed government regulations on food handling at fundraising barbecues or food stalls would be over the top, 81 per cent expected the same level of food safety at a fundraiser as they would at any other commercial outlet.
