Risikowahrnehmung von Kontaminanten in Lebensmitteln

Koch, Severine; Lohmann, Mark; Epp, Astrid; Böl, Gaby‐Fleur

doi:10.1007/s00103-017-2557-2

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Differences in levels of knowledge and awareness between our study group and previously published studies can be attributed to the cohorts covered in the surveys: consumer food safety knowledge and practices vary considerable across demographic categories and possibly across of socioeconomic, educational and cultural levels [53]. In the present study, the cohort exclusively consisted of university students, while other studies included a broader and more diverse representation of the population [51,52]. When comparing mycotoxins with pesticides, microplastics, heavy metals or food additives, almost no differences in terms of risk perception were observed in our student cohort (Table 3).…”

Section: Mycotoxin Awareness and Risk Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…In general, there is a lack of knowledge by consumers regarding mycotoxins as biohazards. This is evident in the study of Koch, et al [52], where 1001 participants in Germany were interviewed on the topic of "contaminants in food" by means of computer-assisted telephone interviews. Only three participants spontaneously listed "mould toxins" as example of undesirable substances in foods.…”

Section: Mycotoxin Awareness and Risk Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Knowledge and Behavioral Habits to Reduce Mycotoxin Dietary Exposure at Household Level in a Cohort of German University Students

Muñoz

Wagner

Pauli

et al. 2021

Toxins

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Mycotoxins pose a health concern for humans. Therefore, strategies at pre- and post-harvest and maximum levels for food have been implemented, aimed to minimize the risk of dietary exposure. Yet, consumers’ dietary habits and life style play a substantial role in overall exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate knowledge of mycotoxins and accordance to behavioral practices or habits that may affect the risk of mycotoxin dietary exposure at the household level or when food commodities are obtained from non-regulated trade markets. For this purpose, an online survey was applied to a university student cohort (n = 186). The survey consisted of 23 questions grouped in five categories: Socio-demographic and income data, general life style and habits, knowledge about mycotoxins, compliance with the “17 golden rules to prevent mycotoxin contamination” of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), and measures towards reducing health risks. We paid particular attention to knowledge and compliance of a group acquiring food items in markets outside regulation and surveillance, namely, adherents of food movements such as food sharing or dumpster diving. The results of our study indicate a generally rather low level of knowledge about mycotoxins in the investigated cohort, as well as a weak perception of their associated risks compared to similar studies; around half of the cohort was unfamiliar with the term “mycotoxin” and the health risks of mycotoxins were considered comparable to those of pesticides, heavy metals, microplastics and food additives. We observed, in general, a relatively high degree of compliance with the proposed golden rules. The rules with the highest compliance related to deteriorated foods with visible signs of fungal infestation, probably because these are already considered as food waste. Rules that were less followed included those that require a specific knowledge of food storage and early fungal contamination stages, namely preventive measures related to storage of bread. Adherents of food movements did not differ significantly with the control group in terms of knowledge, risk perception and compliance with the 17 golden rules. This may be due to the homogeneity of the cohort in terms of demography, age and educational level. However, significant low compliance in the food movements group was observed with the rules “Buy fruit and vegetables that are as intact as possible, i.e., without injuries and bruises” and “Rotten fruit should neither be eaten nor further processed into compote or jam”, possibly because of ideological convictions around reducing food waste. In conclusion, mycotoxin prevention strategies should not end at the retail level; in particular, clarification and information regarding health risk from mycotoxins are suggested in order to reduce the risk of exposure in private households or in informal trade markets. The results of this study should, however, be interpreted with caution due to the specific characteristics of the cohort in terms of age and educational level and the disparity in size between the control and the food movement group. This study is a starting point for evaluating and understanding the consumer perspective on mycotoxins.

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Section: Mycotoxin Awareness and Risk Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Mycotoxin Awareness and Risk Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and Behavioral Habits to Reduce Mycotoxin Dietary Exposure at Household Level in a Cohort of German University Students

Muñoz

Wagner

Pauli

et al. 2021

Toxins

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“…In general, edible animal by-products contain important nutrients [83]. However, the offal of animals may contain higher levels of heavy metals than muscle meat [84] and on the consumer side, there are contamination-related concerns about such food [85,86]. Indeed, meat and meat products are among the foods that are most frequently avoided due to the alleged high contamination with undesirable substances [86].…”

Section: Consumer Evaluations Of the Six Options For The Efficient Utmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the offal of animals may contain higher levels of heavy metals than muscle meat [84] and on the consumer side, there are contamination-related concerns about such food [85,86]. Indeed, meat and meat products are among the foods that are most frequently avoided due to the alleged high contamination with undesirable substances [86]. The probands' evaluations of "nose-to-tail" regarding the responsible use of foods, future potential, and respect towards farmers varied between ambivalent to rather positive.…”

Section: Consumer Evaluations Of the Six Options For The Efficient Utmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the normally unconsumed parts of slaughtered animals are rarely available to the end-consumer [47], a state that can be regarded by the consumers as an indicator of reduced food safety [92]. In addition, there are consumer concerns regarding the contamination of meat (and especially offal) with heavy metals, which can lead to a critical consumer evaluation or an avoidance of the products [86].…”

Section: Comparison Of the Options For The Efficient Utilization Of Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparing “Leaf-to-Root”, “Nose-to-Tail” and Other Efficient Food Utilization Options from a Consumer Perspective

Nitzko

Spiller

2019

Sustainability

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The efficient use of natural raw materials is a key element of sustainable development and is also gaining importance in the food sector. Consumers are increasingly realizing that food is too valuable to be used only partially. However, consumer acceptance is an important precondition for establishing efficient food utilization options. A total of 470 German consumers were surveyed through an online-questionnaire where they had to evaluate three options each for the efficient use of plant-based foods as well as animal-based foods with respect to eight different criteria. The results show that the six options differed significantly regarding consumer acceptance. The efficient use of plant-based foods (especially non-standard fruits/vegetables and the "leaf-to-root" principle) was more accepted than the efficient utilization of animal-based foods. Furthermore, it can be seen that options using the by-products in a natural form were considered more acceptable than those which subject the by-products to some form of processing. These results provide an insight into the views of consumers on food waste reduction strategies, which are frequently debated in the sustainability discussion.The acceptance of consumers is an essential precondition not only for being able to utilize the various methods of efficiently using either plant-or animal-based foods but also for successfully establishing new products based on food by-products [6][7][8]. Some studies show that sustainability-related [9] and ethical aspects [10] have gained in importance in food consumption on the side of the consumer. In addition, there is also an increasing general awareness of the subject of food waste and a growing appreciation of food [11,12]. Nevertheless, based on people´s culinary habits, the by-products of foods are still often regarded as waste [13] and are negatively associated by consumers (e.g., contamination) [14,15].It is known that deficits of trust in the food industry on the side of the consumer [16] can have adverse effects on the acceptance of the various methods of efficiently using foodstuffs or even the development of new products using by-products from the value chain stage of the food processing industry. The use of by-products for food production can be associated with consumer concerns regarding the use of raw materials of lower quality for cost-saving or the production of products of reduced quality [8]. In addition, consumers can have reservations towards certain innovative technologies [17], which are sometimes used for the efficient utilization of by-products.Against this background, six options of efficiently utilizing food, located at different stages of the value chain, will be presented and discussed in the following. Three methods for the efficient utilization of plant-based by-products will be considered: the "leaf-to-root" principle, non-standard fruits/vegetables, and the innovative production of valuable substances (by means of food and biotechnological processing techniques). The three methods for the efficient u...

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