bake - November/December 2020 - 26

FOOD INSECURITY
rises among key consumer concerns

BY J O H N U N REI N

as well as changes in agriculture
practices and food production," says
David Crean, Mars' chief science
officer and vice president of corporate research and development. "We
believe everyone has a right to safe
food and it's also our responsibility
to share our knowledge (82% of
survey respondents expressed their
desire to learn more), expertise and
tools to enable safe food for all."
The ﬁrst of its kind facility aims
to harness the power of international collaboration with a network
of global partners and operational
insights from Mars sites around the
world to raise the bar on food safety
and help ensure safe food for all.
"We're very proud of our efforts
over the first five years - which
included welcoming visitors from
around the world, hosting high-proﬁle global food safety symposiums
and training events and establishing
peer-reviewed research programs in
three crucial areas of food safety.  We
also recognize there is signiﬁcant
work to be done in the years ahead,"

Risks to global supply chains
BELIEVE COVID-19
WILL IMPACT THE
VIABILITY
OF THE
GLOBAL
SUPPLY
CHAIN

26

BELIEVE
71 COVID-19

%

WILL
HAVE AN
IMPACT ON
GLOBAL
ACCESS TO
FOOD

adds Dr. Guangtao Zhang, acting
director and head of research, Mars
Global Food Safety Center.
The Mars Global Food Safety
Center has set ambitious targets
in three critical areas of food safety: 
Mycotoxin risk management:
developing novel partnerships and
breakthrough management strategies to tackle mycotoxin head on;
starting with aﬂatoxins - because of
the serious health threat they pose,
particularly in the developing world.
Microbial risk management:
driving research and collaboration
to move towards faster detection,
identification and, ultimately, a
predictive approach.
Food integrity: developing tools
and capabilities to mitigate food
integrity challenges across the
food industry and the global food
supply chain.
Each of these areas align with
consumer concerns identified in
the survey - 60% of respondents
expressed concerned about keeping
food safe from toxins, as well as

People worry about food safety
and security as much as

39% CLIMATE CHANGE
38% POLLUTION
33% POVERTY

Bake Magazine Digital Special Report  4 | Volume 1 | bakemag.com

MARS

Around the globe, the message is
clear. Food safety has risen to the
top of consumers' chief concerns
when discussing the topic of food,
including chocolate.
According to a new study from the
Mars Global Food Safety Center that
surveyed more than 1,750 people in
the United States, United Kingdom,
and China, more than half of respondents feel that food safety is a top
three global issue - and 77% think
it's a top 10 global issue.
Food insecurity has only been
exacerbated by COVID-19, and 73%
of respondents believe the novel
coronavirus will impact the viability
of the global supply chain and
71% believe it will have an impact
on global access to food.  These
consumers think about food safety
and security as much as climate
change (39%) and pollution (38%). 
"New food safety threats, like those
posed by COVID-19, are constantly
emerging through a combination of
factors including global warming,
increased globalization of trade,
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