Over 40,000 household consumers located in 341 districts of India were asked how many packaged food products they purchased in the last three years (opened before the expiry date) that were found to be infested with insects, fungus, or other contaminants.While two per cent said over 10 products were found defective, nine per cent said seven to 10 products were found infested with insects and fungus. As many as seven per cent said 3-6 products were found defective, while 20% said 1-2 products were found unusable.However, 51% of respondents added they “never have had such an experience with packaged food products in the last three years.”“To sum up, 38% of household consumers surveyed say that in the last three years, they have had one or more instances where packaged food items (with future expiry date) purchased were infested with insects, fungus, etc.,” the survey said.The survey, conducted among 62% men and 38% women, next asked the consumers, “If they find that a packaged food brand product they had bought was infested (insects, fungus, etc.), how likely are they to buy another product of the same brand?”“Fifty-nine per cent of household consumers surveyed said they are likely to completely avoid a brand after experiencing a product infested with insects, fungus, etc., while 25% are likely to avoid that product in the future but not the brand,” the survey said.
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