50% of consumers in China have a wrong understanding of vacuum-packed food

As work and living habits change, the proportion of people eating out or buying vacuum-packed food for convenience is gradually increasing. However, a survey report released by the Taichung City Government's Department of Budget, Accounting and Statistics found that only about 50% of the public understand that vacuum-packed food needs to be boiled to 100 degrees Celsius for more than 10 minutes when consumed, indicating that most people still need to strengthen their understanding of the storage and consumption of vacuum-packed products.

The proportion of Taiwanese people buying vacuum-packed foods is gradually increasing, but according to a survey conducted by the Taichung City Government's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, only about 50% of Taichung citizens know the correct way to store and eat them.

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics of Taichung City Government announced today on the 31st the results of a "Taichung Citizens' Opinion Survey on the Selection of Vacuum-Packaged Ready-To-Eat Foods and the Correct Use of Medications". It was found that nearly 47% of Taichung citizens would purchase vacuum-packed ready-to-eat foods, and the main purchasing channels are supermarkets and stores. In addition, more than 90% of the people have a high degree of knowledge of the matters that should be paid attention to when purchasing, including paying attention to labels, appearance, keeping raw and cooked food separate, product name, contents, expiration date, name of food additives and manufacturer name, etc.

However, the survey results also found that only 64.8% of the public would pay attention to the fact that vacuum-packed instant foods may not necessarily be sold and stored at "room temperature"; 61.6% of the public knew that vacuum-packed instant foods may not necessarily be eaten immediately; 52.2% of the public understood that if the label of vacuum-packed instant foods indicates that they should be refrigerated or frozen, they must be boiled at 100 degrees and heated for more than 10 minutes before consumption; 49.1% knew that accidentally ingesting contaminated vacuum-packed instant foods may cause symptoms suspected of botulism poisoning.

The survey was conducted via telephone interviews from June 5 to June 9, 2012, targeting people in Taichung City who were 18 years old and above. A total of 1,072 valid samples were collected. At a 95% confidence level, the sampling error was plus or minus 3.0%.