The Food Standards Agency has published the Biannual Public Attitudes Tracker (May 2018) results. It was conducted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to monitor changes in consumer attitudes towards the Agency and food-related issues.
The top food safety issues of concern for respondents were:
- Food hygiene when eating out (33%)
- Chemicals from the environment such as lead in food (30%)
- Food addictiveness (29%)
- Food poisoning (28%)
The top wider food issues of concern were:
- The amount of sugar in food (55%)
- Food waste (51%)
- Food prices (43%)
- Animal welfare (42%)
According to the survey, 45% of respondents reported concern about food safety in UK restaurants, pubs, cafes and takeaways and 43% of respondents reported concern about food safety in UK shops and supermarkets.
In addition, 82% respondents reported they were aware of hygiene standards in places they eat out at or buy food from. The most commonly reported ways of knowing about hygiene standards were via hygiene stickers/certificates and the general appearance of the premises (both 61%).