2026 Key insights

Food recall awareness has remained steady, with 38% of consumers recalling a food recall in the past 12 months, unchanged from 2025.
Food poisoning remained the top food safety concern (21%), followed by chemicals from the environment in food (14%) and foreign objects (14%).
Raw poultry (79%) and raw seafood and shellfish (74%) are considered the highest-risk foods if not stored, prepared, and/or cooked correctly at home.
Around 7 in 10 respondents considered food poisoning from home as common, compared with about 6 in 10 for food from a restaurant.
Suspected food poisoning in the last 30 days was reported by 7% of respondents, with 46% seeking medical advice or testing.
Most respondents (88%) knew undercooked chicken could cause food poisoning even if it looked cooked outside.
Nearly 30% washed raw chicken always or most of the time.
Cutting into chicken to see if it was still pink or whether the juices ran clear (68% overall) was the most common method used to check if chicken is cooked. Few respondents used a food thermometer (16%).
Most respondents always washed their hands (65%) and always cleaned surfaces after preparing raw meat (71%). Separation behaviours were performed less consistently, with 54% always using a separate knife and 53% using a separate chopping board.

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Food recall knowledge

In 2026, 38.3% of respondents remembered a food recall happening over the last 12 months.

Food safety concerns

Food poisoning, chemicals from the environment and contamination of food with foreign objects were respondents top 3 food safety concerns. The same 3 food safety concerns have remained the leading concerns since measurement began in 2023.

Food risk perceptions

Raw chicken or poultry and raw seafood/shellfish were perceived as the riskiest foods to eat if not stored, prepared, and/or cooked correctly at home. The relative ranking of perceived risks of foods remained generally consistent across years.

Perceived food safety risk by food type. Raw poultry was most commonly rated high risk at 79%, followed by raw seafood at 74%, raw pork at 70% and raw beef and lamb at 53%. Fruit and vegetables were least commonly rated high risk, at 8% each. — Question: *In your opinion, how risky are the following foods to eat if not stored, prepared, and/or cooked correctly at home? [Response options: High risk, medium risk, low risk, don’t know].*

Perceived high food safety risk, 2024–26. Raw poultry remained highest at about 80%, followed by raw seafood at about 75% and raw pork at about 70%. Ratings were generally stable across the 3 years, with raw beef and lamb increasing from 48% to 53% and vegetables remaining lowest at under 10%. — Question: *In your opinion, how risky are the following foods to eat if not stored, prepared, and/or cooked correctly at home?*

Food poisoning

Respondents believed getting food poisoning was slightly more common for food prepared at home than in a restaurant.

Overall, 153 (7%) respondents reported a suspected food poisoning episode in the last 30 days. Among those who reported suspected food poisoning, 70 (46%) respondents sought advice or testing from a medical professional.

Respondents who reported experiencing food poisoning in the past 12 months: 7% yes and 92% no. — Question: *In the past 30 days, have you experienced vomiting or diarrhoea that you thought was food poisoning?*

The majority of respondents (88%) believed that undercooked chicken, even if it looks cooked on the outside, could cause food poisoning, 5% were unsure or did not know.

Belief that undercooked chicken can cause food poisoning even if it looks cooked on the outside: 88% yes, 7% no and 5% don’t know. — Question: *Do you believe undercooked chicken can cause food poisoning even if it looks cooked on the outside?*

Food safety behaviours

Washing raw chicken

Among the 2,145 respondents who prepared chicken at home, nearly one-third reported washing raw chicken before cooking, (18% reporting ‘always’ and 12% ‘most of the time'). Respondents from New Zealand were more likely to report never washing chicken prior to cooking compared to respondents from Australia (38% vs. 33%).

Food safety behaviours cooking chicken

Cutting into chicken to see if it was still pink or whether the juices ran clear (67.7% overall) was the most common method used to check if chicken is cooked. Few respondents used a food thermometer (15.9%).

Most people check chicken is cooked by cutting it to see whether the meat is pink or the juices are clear (68%). This is followed by cooking for a set time (32%), checking the outside (26%) and using a food thermometer (16%). Results are generally similar in Australia and New Zealand. — Question: *How do you usually check that chicken is properly cooked?*

Preparation of raw meat

Among respondents who prepared raw meat at home (n = 2,085) most reported safe handling practices. More than 80% said they washed their hands, utensils and preparation surfaces after handling raw meat most or all of the time. However, practices to keep surfaces/boards/utensils used for the preparation of raw meat separate from other foods was less consistent, with around 50 to 55% saying they ‘always’ followed these practices.

Question: *After preparing/handling raw meat (e.g. red meat, chicken or seafood), do you:*
	Never n (%)	Rarely n (%)	Sometimes n (%)	Most of the time n (%)	Always n (%)
Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water	21 (1.0)	57 (2.7)	253 (12.1)	397 (19.0)	1,357 (65.1)
Wash chopping board/surface with hot soapy water before using again	19 (0.9)	58 (2.8)	189 (9.1)	336 (16.1)	1,483 (71.1)
Wash knife/utensils with hot soapy water before using it again	19 (0.9)	52 (2.5)	167 (8.0)	337 (16.2)	1,510 (72.4)
Use separate knife/utensils	90 (4.3)	124 (5.9)	312 (15.0)	431 (20.7)	1,128 (54.1)
Use separate chopping board/surface	137 (6.6)	158 (7.6)	301 (14.4)	393 (18.8)	1,096 (52.6)

Page last updated: 9 November 2026

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Food safety knowledge, behaviours and concerns