Americans’ confidence that food sold at most grocery stores is safe to eat has fallen to its lowest level Gallup has recorded, with 65% now very or somewhat confident. That is down from 73% last year and 72% in 2024, and well below the 81% recorded in 2019.
The overall 16-percentage-point decline in confidence since 2019 reflects decreases in both the “very confident” group, from 31% to 23%, and the “somewhat confident” group, from 50% to 42%. Meanwhile, the share who are “not too confident” or “not at all confident” has risen from 18% to 34%.
This year’s survey was conducted as a major U.S. cyclospora outbreak that began in June started to wane and officially ended on Sept. 11. Likewise, the 2024 reading came amid numerous food recalls and serious illnesses linked to contaminated produce and other foods.
Although much of the news coverage of the recent food scare focused on produce at certain restaurants, Americans rate the safety of restaurant and grocery food similarly. In Gallup’s first measure of restaurant food safety, about two-thirds are very (20%) or somewhat (46%) confident that food at most restaurants is safe to eat, while 33% are not too or not at all confident.
Americans’ confidence that food sold at most grocery stores is safe to eat has fallen to its lowest level Gallup has recorded, with 65% now very or somewhat confident. https://t.co/U7n7giSGA9
— Gallup (@Gallup) October 9, 2026
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.