The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published the results of its Biannual Attitudes Tracker (November 2017). It was conducted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to monitor changes in consumer attitudes towards the Agency and food-related issues. This Wave included 16 new questions.
The top food safety issues of concern for respondents were:
- Food hygiene when eating out (36%)
- Food poisoning (30%)
- Chemicals from the environment, such as lead, in food (29%)
- Food additives (26%)
The top wider food issues of concern were:
- The amount of sugar in food (52%)
- Food waste (48%)
- Food prices (46%)
- Animal welfare (43%)
According to the survey, 45% of respondents reported concern about food safety in the UK restaurants, pubs, cafes and takeaways. 42% of respondents reported concern about food safety in UK shops and supermarkets.
In addition, 84% of respondents reported being aware of the 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 (61%) and the general appearance of the premises (60%).