Citizens' perceptions of the presence and health risks of synthetic chemicals in food: results of an online survey in Spain

Objective: To explore factors influencing perceptions and viewpoints on the responsibility for the presence of toxic substances in food, on enforcement of laws and regulations that control human exposure to toxic substances in food, and on the effectiveness of such regulations. Methods: An online su...

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Main Authors: José Pumarega (Author), Cristina Larrea (Author), Araceli Muñoz (Author), Natàlia Pallarès (Author), Magda Gasull (Author), Giselle Rodríguez (Author), Manel Jariod (Author), Miquel Porta (Author)
Format: Book
Published: Elsevier, 2017-09-01T00:00:00Z.
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042 |a dc 
100 1 0 |a José Pumarega  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Cristina Larrea  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Araceli Muñoz  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Natàlia Pallarès  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Magda Gasull  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Giselle Rodríguez  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Manel Jariod  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Miquel Porta  |e author 
245 0 0 |a Citizens' perceptions of the presence and health risks of synthetic chemicals in food: results of an online survey in Spain 
260 |b Elsevier,   |c 2017-09-01T00:00:00Z. 
500 |a 0213-9111 
500 |a 10.1016/j.gaceta.2017.03.012 
520 |a Objective: To explore factors influencing perceptions and viewpoints on the responsibility for the presence of toxic substances in food, on enforcement of laws and regulations that control human exposure to toxic substances in food, and on the effectiveness of such regulations. Methods: An online survey was completed by 740 individuals from several parts of Spain (median age, 47 years; 67% were women; 70% had completed university studies). Results: Over 87% of respondents said that it was possible that throughout their lives they could have accumulated in their body toxic substances potentially dangerous to their health. The attribution of the responsibility for toxic substances in food to a larger number of social groups was more frequent among respondents who consulted information about the problem more often (odds ratio [OR]: 1.92), who correctly identified factors that increase the likelihood of toxic substances in food being harmful to human health (OR: 2.86), who better knew the health problems that may be caused by such substances (OR: 2.48), and who recognised more food groups that tend to have concentrations of toxic substances potentially harmful to health (OR: 2.92) (all p values <0.001). Women were 65% less likely than men to answer that regulations on toxic substances in food are effective (p < 0.001); and so were participants who identified more food groups with potentially toxic concentrations. Conclusions: Among study participants there was a widespread scepticism and distrust towards the enforcement and effectiveness of laws and regulations that in Spain aim to control human exposure to toxic substances in food. 
546 |a EN 
546 |a ES 
690 |a Environmental pollutants 
690 |a Prevention and control 
690 |a Environmental exposure 
690 |a Adverse effects 
690 |a Human biomonitoring 
690 |a Health survey 
690 |a Persistent organic pollutants 
690 |a Toxic substances in food 
690 |a Public aspects of medicine 
690 |a RA1-1270 
655 7 |a article  |2 local 
786 0 |n Gaceta Sanitaria, Vol 31, Iss 5, Pp 371-381 (2017) 
787 0 |n http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0213911117301292 
787 0 |n https://doaj.org/toc/0213-9111 
856 4 1 |u https://doaj.org/article/ff3c84f4f2c342b99ab95fb5adb4aecd  |z Connect to this object online.