Americans worry about food, especially imports

Before McDonalds decided to hold the tomatoes, Americans felt pretty sure food produced in the USA was safe, but they had some doubts about eating food imported from other countries, especially Mexico and China, according to a study released today.

In a Harvard School of Public Health survey conducted before salmonella cases traced to some fresh tomatoes put a crimp in fast-food sales, people were asked a variety of questions about food safety, from how worried they were about eating sushi (very) to what they thought of the government's inspection system (not much).

All told, more than a third think US-produced food is very safe and more than half say it's somewhat safe. Almost half believe food from Mexico isn't safe, and a little more than half give the same thumbs down to food from China. Half of respondents said they check to see where foods come from before they put them in their grocery carts.

The government's inspection system got poor marks for its job ensuring food safety, earning just some or very little confidence from half of the people surveyed.