Maltese insecure about their food

Most Maltese are very worried about the possibility of food poisoning and pesticide residue in their daily meals, according to an EU-wide survey on food safety.

Maltese respondents emerged as among the “most concerned” of the populations of the 27 EU member states over what they eat, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey.

As many as 77 per cent said they feared the risk of pesticide residue in their food, particularly in vegetables and fruit, while 72 per cent considered the risk of getting food poisoning, particularly from salmonella in eggs and listeria in cheese products, as “high”. Another 77 per cent said they doubted the freshness of their food products.

On the other hand, the 500 Maltese respondents who took part in the survey, conducted by Misco last June, are less worried than other EU populations over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food or the cloning of animals for food purposes.

According to an EU official, this may be the result of lack of information on the Maltese side over the risks these “new” technologies may have.

The survey also reveals that although the majority of Maltese (69 per cent) believe local health authorities are doing a good job and are capable of identifying serious food risks, they had more confidence in EU authorities (75 per cent).

The importance of knowing what is being consumed to assure a healthy diet is also gaining ground among the Maltese and 62 per cent said they made sure to watch the carbohydrate and fat content of the food they were eating.

Still, the fear among the Maltese of developing a serious food-related illness, such as diabetes or cardiac problems, is quite high with 73 per cent of respondents admitting to being scared of this eventuality.

The survey shows 67 per cent agree that today’s food is much safer than it was 10 years ago although they still want to see more checks in place. Another 73 per cent of the Maltese perceive that EU-produced food is much safer than other fare produced and imported from countries outside the EU.

The Maltese also expressed much higher faith in independent research on food produced by scientists. While 65 per cent thought this research was totally independent of commercial or political interests, only 47 per cent believed so in the rest of the EU.

On a general level, the EU survey shows that the majority of respondents mostly associated food and eating with enjoyment, such as selecting fresh and tasty food (58 per cent), or the pleasure of having meals with family and friends (54 per cent).

Less than half of respondents (44 per cent) focused on concerns such as looking for affordable prices and satisfying hunger. Fewer were worried about the safety of food (37 per cent) or nutritional issues such as checking calories and nutrients (23 per cent).

When placed in the context of other risks that could personally affect them, more EU citizens ranked the economic crisis (20 per cent) and environmental pollution (18 per cent) as very likely to affect their lives compared with the possible risk of food damaging their health (11 per cent).