FSA publishes findings on British attitudes to new food technologies 04 Mar 2010
The Food Standards Agency has published its findings from FSA-funded questions in the 2008 British Social
Attitudes survey. The questions investigated people's attitudes to emerging food
technologies, including genetically modified (GM) food, high pressure treatment,
gas filled packaging and hypothetical foods that have health benefits.
Key findings include
- People's knowledge of, and attitudes to, food technologies vary considerably. It
found people with certain characteristics including being older, female, having
a low income or generally having a high level of concern about food safety, as
being more concerned.
- The more familiar people are with the names of food technologies the less
concerned they are about them. For example, 31% of people were concerned about eating
food cooked in a microwave, whereas 57% were concerned about eating food from a
magnetron (another name for a microwave).
- Compared with 1999, when the same questions were asked, fewer people now said
they have a strong attitude to GM food, and there has been a gradual increase in
public support for GM food (from 10% in 1999 to 19% in 2008).
Find out more on Genetic Modification and Food - see IFST Information Statement