BfR
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Annual Report 2014
36
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Professor Hensel, how aware is the general public of aluminium in
consumer products?
There is controversial public discussion of the subject of aluminium
again and again, and the BfR received many inquiries from concerned
citizens last year. Our investigations have shown that the majority of peo-
ple have heard of aluminium in consumer products and that the media
has reported increasingly on the subject.
How high is the level of awareness of the topic compared to other
consumer topics?
Compared to other consumer health topics, the subject lies mid-range. It
is less well known than antibiotics resistance and pesticide residues, but
consumers are more familiar with it than with the EHEC pathogen. That is
amazing, because the EHEC outbreak caused by bean sprouts was only
four years ago. It just goes to show how quickly topics can disappear
from the focus of public attention.
Is the topic fundamentally new to consumers?
It can be assumed that most consumers are aware that they come in
contact with aluminium in their everyday lives, because most of them
use aluminium film and trays after all for grilling and the like. It wasn't so
well known up to now that cosmetics, in particular antiperspirants, are a
source of aluminium. Those in the survey who knew about the subject
from the media could remember deodorants and antiperspirants even
though it is only antiperspirants which contain the aluminium salts which
help to make us sweat less. Deodorants merely cover up the smell of
sweat. This difference seems to have got lost somewhere in the public
debate and not even half of the respondents in the survey knew about
it either.
Interview with Institute Director
Andreas Hensel
The public has not yet formed a final opinion
on the question of the risks of aluminium.
Interview on perception research of aluminium
In addition to its opinion on aluminium in products of everyday use, the BfR has issued two studies in order to
find out more about the knowledge and attitudes of consumers on the subject. To do so, the BfR interviewed
a representative number of consumers in November 2014 and analysed reporting in mainstream German
media over a period of ten months. In an interview, BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel talks about
the results of the two surveys.
