Food and You - latest FSA survey

31 Jan 2022

The Food Standards Agency has published the latest wave of its regular survey into consumers’ attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and other food issues. The survey looks at the views of adults in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Confidence in food safety, authenticity, and the food supply chain

Most respondents (90%) reported that they were confident that the food they buy is safe to eat and more than 8 in 10 (83%) respondents were confident that the information on food labels is accurate

Almost three quarters of respondents (73%) reported that they had confidence in the food supply chain

Respondents were more likely to report confidence in farmers (87%), shops and supermarkets (83%) than in take-aways (56%), and food delivery services (41%)

Concerns about food

Most respondents (80%) had no concerns about the food they eat

The most common prompted concerns were the amount of sugar in food (63%), and food waste (61%)

Food security

Food security levels were comparable across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Over three quarters of respondents were food secure (i.e. had high or marginal food security) in England (85%), Wales (82%) and Northern Ireland (84%). Approximately 1 in 6 respondents were food insecure (i.e. had low or very low food security) in England (15%), Wales (18%) and Northern Ireland (16%)

Food shopping and labelling

Most respondents reported that they often check the use-by (84%) or best before (82%) date when buying food.

The full details of the research can be found here.