Perceived risks of conventional and organic produce: Pesticides, pathogens, and natural toxins

Public risk perceptions and demand for safer food are important factors sha ping agricultural production practices in the United States. Despite docume nted food safety concerns, little attempt has been made to elicit consumers ' subjective risk judgments for a range of food safety hazards or to identi fy factors most predictive of perceived food safety risks. In this study, o ver 700 conventional and organic fresh produce buyers in the Boston area we re surveyed for their perceived food safety risks. Survey results showed th at consumers perceived relatively high risks associated with the consumptio n and production of conventionally grown produce compared with other public health hazards. For example, conventional and organic food buyers estimate d the median annual fatality rate due to pesticide residues on conventional ly grown food to be about 50 per million and 200 per million, respectively, which is similar in magnitude to the annual mortality risk from motor vehi cle accidents in the United States. Over 90% of survey respondents also per ceived a reduction in pesticide residue risk associated with substituting o rganically grown produce for conventionally grown produce, and nearly 50% p erceived a risk reduction due to natural toxins and microbial pathogens. Mu ltiple regression analyses indicate that only a few factors are consistentl y predictive of higher risk perceptions, including feelings of distrust tow ard regulatory agencies and the safety of the food supply. A variety of fac tors were found to be significant predictors of specific categories of food hazards, suggesting that consumers may view food safety risks as dissimila r from one another. Based on study findings, it is recommended that future agricultural policies and risk communication efforts utilize a comparative risk approach that targets a range of food safety hazards.