BfR: Consumer Monitor 2/2024 Highlights Awareness and Concern About Health Risks

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Jul 30, 2024 - Foods

BfR: Consumer Monitor 2/2024 Highlights Awareness and Concern About Health Risks

The Consumer Monitor of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) regularly provides insights into the perception of health risks related to food by the German population. The current issue, highlighted by the German Association of Independent Testing Laboratories (VUP), shows that the topics of antibiotic resistance, microplastics, and pesticide residues in food are primarily perceived.

According to the report, undefined "undesirable substances" are perceived by consumers as by far the greatest health risk. The frequency of citing plastics as a health risk has increased by 5 percentage points compared to the previous year. According to the BfR, antibiotic resistance and microplastics in food remain topics that concern more than half of the respondents, and many also feel comparatively well-informed about them.

In the current monitor (survey: February 2024), data on per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS) in consumer products was collected for the first time. The results suggested that this topic is not yet widespread, as more than half of the respondents stated they had not heard of it before.

The current Consumer Monitor can be downloaded from the BfR website. Older results are also available there.

Source: BfR