Confidence in the government’s ability to ensure food safety in the U.S. has hit a new low — a drop driven largely by distrust among Democrats, according to a poll released Monday.
Gallup’s latest survey of consumer habits found 53 percent of Americans said they have at least a “fair amount” of faith in federal regulators maintaining a safe food supply.
Confidence had hovered around 70 percent from 2007 to 2019, based on Gallup’s previous findings, but it fell below 60 percent for the first time last year and continued to drop.
The latest poll found that confidence among Republicans in the government’s ability to maintain food safety held steady at 41 percent from last year to this year after President Trump’s return to the White House, but confidence fell off among Democrats.
About 74 percent of Democrats expressed confidence in federal food safety oversight in 2024, compared to 48 percent this year.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has heavily emphasized food as part of his overhaul of federal health care initiatives, but sweeping budget cuts across the federal government and has raised additional concerns at the FDA. Officials have maintained that none of the cuts impacted the number of inspectors or other food regulators.
The Associated Press reported in April that the FDA had been struggling for years to ramp up inspections after the COVID-19 pandemic and that outside contractors were being hired to fill some inspector roles.
The FDA, which has issued about 100 safety alerts and food recalls this year based on the agency’s active database, penned a letter to food industry leaders last month urging better communication about product safety concerns.
“At the FDA, we believe that radical transparency in food safety and nutrition actions is key to reducing foodborne illness and chronic disease, setting a strong foundation for lifelong health,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary wrote in the memo, specifically highlighting concerns about chemical contaminants in foods for infants and toddlers.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,002 adults July 7-21 across all U.S. states and the District of Columbia and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
