Pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables are the top food safety fear among consumers in five countries. Scientists from the not-for-profit group CABI used survey data from 8,644 people in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Pakistan, and Uganda. They assessed concerns about food safety risks, attitudes toward pesticide use in fruit and vegetable production, and how pesticide concerns and socioeconomic factors affect outlet choices.
Consumers who expressed concerns with pesticides were more likely to demand fruits and vegetables from specialist shops and avoid such goods from street hawkers. The study, published in the journal Global Food Security , found that pesticides were the most cited source of food safety concerns, followed by microbial food poisoning and food additives. Pesticide use concerns The percentage of respondents whose household members have reportedly experienced food poisoning symptoms after consuming fruits and vegetables varied from 23 percent in Kenya to 43 percent in Pakistan.
Dr. Justice Tambo, lead author of the study and senior socio-economist at CABI, said: “Fruits and vegetables are critical components of nutritious and healthy diets, but there are growing concerns about food safety risks linked to their consumption. “Given the less importance consumers in Africa give to safety and quality attributes when choosing fruits and vegetables retail outlets, it is not surprising that very few of them buy their fruits and vegetables from supermarkets, which a.