U.S. consumers are concerned about the safety of the food supply they buy, eat and serve their families, and want the food industry's help in addressing and correcting problems.

"Only 66 percent of shoppers -- down from 82 percent last year -- are confident that the food they buy at the grocery store is safe," according to "U.S. Grocery Store Trends," prepared by the Food Marketing Institute's research department. The Food Marketing Institute is the nation's largest trade organization for the retail and wholesale food industry.

Restaurants takes even a harder hit with only 42 percent of shoppers confident of the safety of the food they prepare and serve, the research says.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 76 million Americans contract some type of foodborne illness annually. Most of those illnesses have been linked to food storage, handling and preparation in the home, which all could have been avoided with proper food safety procedures.

But when the threat comes from purchased food, especially from well-known brands and labels, consumers may feel basically helpless. Since the beginning of 2007, there has been a major recall of pet foods contaminated with the chemical melamine that was added to the ingredients imported from China, and recall of a Peter Pan peanut butter.

In the past 11 years, fresh spinach and lettuce has caused at least 20 outbreaks of foodborne illness, diseases caused by the ingestion of contaminated food, including the contamination of spinach tainted with E. coli bacteria in the fall of 2006 that killed three and sickened about 200 others.

Confidence at lowest point

According to the FMI studies, consumer confidence in the food supply has fallen to its lowest point since 1989, when there were concerns about pesticides in apples and contaminated grapes.

"These findings send a strong message to the entire food industry," said FMI President and CEO Tim Hammonds. "All of us need to work together to be sure our consumers continue to receive the high-quality, affordable food they have every right to expect."

Yet a short, nonscientific study of Northwest Indiana shoppers found only two in five people expressed real worry about food safety.

"I'm very concerned with my food," said Catherine Kluse of Munster, who originally hails from France. "I wash all fruit and vegetables. There are too many preservatives. I don't buy anything in plastic. But there are no guarantees."

Diane Berge of Valparaiso said she doesn't consider food safety a "big issue," because she washes her produce and cooks meat to the proper -- safe -- temperature.

"If we're careful to begin with, it wouldn't be a big problem," she said.

FMI's Trends survey found most consumers believe they are personally responsible to make sure their food is safe, and 38 percent of them stopped purchasing certain foods in the past year -- up from 9 percent in 2006 -- because of safety issues.

"Among those who stopped buying products, the items most often mentioned were spinach, 71 percent; lettuce, 16 percent; bagged salad, 9 percent, and beef, 8 percent," according to the survey conducted in January 2007.

Newly installed FMI chairman Steve Smith has said coping with the food safety issue is his top priority. In a recent interview with Supermarket News, Smith said he plans to re-establish the institute's food safety task force and have it made up of food industry leaders, suppliers and other with a vested interest in rebuilding consumer confidence in food safety.

Consumer advocates think that tougher mandatory food safety standards and stepped-up enforcement are the answers to keeping produce safety, according to Progressive Grocer magazine. But the country's largest food distributors and restaurants are pursuing self-regulation, arguing that government rules can take years to put in place, it says.

Businesses through the entire food industry from "field to fork" say they are committed to food safety.

Gloria Chilton, director of marketing for Driscoll's, said Tuesday the California family-owned berry producer with $1 billion in annual sales requires its producers to adhere to Good Agricultural Practices, and Driscoll's even more exacting safety requirement. Delivering a safe and tasty product is the top priority, she said.

"We work closely with our producers to educate them, and educate everyone who handles our berries right down the chain," Chilton said. "Economics is a big reason, but that fact that it's a family company and its name is on every product is even more important. We've never had a problem."

Like most companies in the produce industry, Driscoll's can track the grower and handler of all the berries it sells.

"We can do it right down to the crate level," Chilton said.

Jewel-Osco spokesman Juanita Kocanda, said her company follows stringent sanitation procedures in both its distribution of food products and handling of consumer goods at the store level, and makes sure products are within the code dates on their packages.

"We work with our vendor partners to get the best, freshest products available," she said. "We make sure that as soon as we are notified by the government or vendors there could be a potential problem with a product we pull it off the shelves. We can use the pet food as an example."

Jewel tells customers if they feel there is a product they don't feel safe in consuming to return it to the store and receive a refund, no questions asked.

"We protect our products and our customers in ever way we can," Kocanda said. "Our food is constantly inspected."

BREAKOUT

'Huge surge'

The recent spate of recalls has been a boon to some parts of the food industry.

Sales of Fit Fruit and Vegetable Wash, manufactured by Health-Pro Brands of Cincinnati, have increased 48 percent to $926,140 during the 4th quarter 2006 and first quarter 2007 -- during the height of produce product recalls -- compared to the previous period.

Chief Executive Officer said Todd Wichmann the company has seen a "huge surge" in its institutional business in those months.

Fit, which is made from all natural and every day food ingredients such as citric acid and grapefruit oil, rinses away clean and -- unlike the chlorine used in most produce washes -- leaves no aftertaste or smell. The product was developed by Procter & Gamble in 2000 and sold to HealthPro in 2006.

Unlike some other produce cleansing methods, Fit is effective in killing gram-negative bacteria associated with food- borne illnesses such as Salmonella and E.coli.

"We're growing very quickly," Wichmann said.

Quick safety tips for consumers:

Keep cold foods cold (40 degrees F or below) and hot foods hot (140 degrees F and above).

Use an appliance thermometer to ensure your refrigerator stays at 40 degrees F or below; the freezer at 0 degrees F or below.

Use a meat thermometer for cooking, and check to see that hot food stays at 140 degrees F or above in a chafing dish on a buffet.

Never keep perishable foods at room temperature for any longer than two hours, including time to prepare,

serve and eat.

Never allow cooked or prepared foods to come in contact with raw meat juices. For example, never put cooked meat on the same plate used for raw meat. Use separate, clean utensils and wash your hands frequently.

A food safety hazard is a biological, chemical, or physical property that may cause an unacceptable consumer health risk. Foodborne illnesses are diseases contracted by ingesting contaminated food. About two-thirds of all food poisoning outbreaks involve bacteria. The rest are caused by viruses, parasites, fungi and chemicals. The illnesses may be caused by either the microorganisms themselves or the toxins they release. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified more than 400 food-related illnesses.