Survey by Food Standards Agency shows drop in concern over BSE and food safety
Monday 17 February 2003
Ref: WA09/03kc
The third annual Welsh Consumer Attitudes to Food survey, published today by the Food Standards Agency, reveals a small but significant decrease in concern about food safety from 72% in 2000 to 68% in 2002.
Most significant are a 24% fall in concern about BSE (42% in 2002 compared to 66% in 2000), and a fall in concern about GM foods from 46% in 2000 to 39% in 2002.
The 2002 survey highlights a number of trends that have emerged since the first Consumer Attitudes to Food survey was carried out in 2000. The most noteworthy of these is a small but steady decline in concern over the safety of meat, with a significant decrease in concern about types of meat - including raw meat - over the past three years.
Confidence in the role played by the Food Standards Agency has also increased significantly, with 51% of consumers now claiming to be very or fairly confident in the Agency's role in protecting health with regard to food safety, an increase of 10% since 2000.
The Consumer Attitudes to Food survey reveals the views of more than 700 Welsh consumers across the country and the issues that really matter to them. Although there have been few significant changes in consumer behaviour over the past year, particularly with regards to nutrition, diet and shopping habits, the survey does show that consumers are slowly becoming increasingly concerned about the healthy eating, which saw an increase from 20% in 2001 to 29% in 2002.
The 2002 survey also reveals a small but significant decrease in the number of people claiming to eat 'convenience' food, illustrated by a similar decrease in the amount of people regularly buying fast food and mobile food outlets.
Joy Whinney, Director of the Food Standards Agency Wales, said: 'The small but steady decline in public concern about food safety and some important food issues is extremely positive news, both for consumers and the Food Standards Agency Wales'.
'In the past three years we have made some headway in the journey to earning public confidence and trust. This annual survey, by continuing to highlight changing opinion about the issues that matter most to consumers, is a valuable contribution to the continuing public debate on food safety and standards'.
Summary of other findings:
Food safety
Not a significant decrease in the number of people describing themselves as 'very' or 'quite' concerned about food safety issues (from 70% to 68%)
Lower level of spontaneous concern about food scares, with a fall from 11% in 2001 to 2% in 2002
Decrease in concern about BSE/CJD, which was mentioned by significantly fewer people in 2002 (42%) than in 2001 (49%)
Food hygiene
A small decrease in concern about hygiene in any type of catering outlet - from 47% in 2001 to 44% in 2002
An increase in the number of people concerned about fast food outlets (from 15% in 2001 to 18% in 2002)
A small increase in concern about safety and hygiene standards of market stalls selling meat - 31% in 2002, compared to 29% in 2001. However, this is still considerably lower than in 2000 when 54% expressed a concern about market stalls selling meat.
Concern about hygiene in a particular catering outlet continues to lead to most consumers not using that outlet again, but only 9% consumers were likely to report their concerns to anyone in 2002, a small rise from 8% in 2001
Food poisoning
A slight decrease in the number of people claiming to have suffered from food poisoning in 2002 (11%). This is lower than in England, where 14% claimed to have been affected in 2002.
The majority of those who suffered from food poisoning (73%) attributed their illness to food prepared outside the home
Only 25% reported their illness to anyone, such as a GP, a Local Authority or the outlet where the food was bought
Food labelling
The accuracy of food labelling was of greater concern to people in Wales than elsewhere in the UK. 43% of Welsh consumers had concerns about labelling accuracy, compared to 34% in Scotland and England, and 32% in Northern Ireland.
Consumers in Wales are experiencing increasing difficulties in understanding information on food labels. In 2000, a quarter (24%) of consumers found food labels ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ difficult to understand. However in 2002, almost three out of ten (29%) of Welsh consumers found labels 'very’ or ‘fairly' difficult to understand
Significant increase in numbers of people looking for information about calories on food labels, from 21% in 2000 to 29% in 2002
Significant decrease in numbers of people looking for information about product ingredients - for example additives; quantities, GM content or for allergy or other dietary reasons - from 64% in 2000 to 57% in 2002.
A small increase of 1% in comprehension of ‘use by’ label information from 43% in 2001 to 44% in 2003. A decrease of 1% in ability to identify the main ingredient on a food label (from 30% in 2001 to 29% in 2002). (these 1% increases/decreases are not significant)
Healthy eating and nutrition
An increase in numbers of people with knowledge of the '5 a day' message - from 46% in 2001 to 48% in 2002. However, Welsh consumers had the least awareness in the UK, and Scotland the highest.
Despite the slight increase only 27% of consumers claimed to have eaten five or more portions of fruit and vegetables the previous day. This is a drop of 6% from 2001
There was overwhelming agreement that people should eat more fruit, vegetables and salad, and fewer fatty or sugary foods and drinks. Half (51%) recognised that it would be beneficial to eat less salt in food, compared to 45% in 2001. Only a third (32%) stated that people should eat more starchy foods such as bread, cereals, pasta, rice and potatoes in 2002, compared to 39% in 2001
Shopping and eating habits
As in previous years, only 4% of Welsh households has one or more member who is vegetarian or 8% are on a special diet. Vegetarianism is most common in the South East of England
31% of consumers in Wales claimed to eat organic foods, a drop of 2% on 2001 figures
Food Standards Agency
In 2002, 76% of consumers said they were aware of FSA, a significant increase from 67% in 2001 and 66% in 2000
The number of people rating the FSA as a 'very reliable' source of information increased significantly in 2002 to 54%, from 32% in 2000. An additional 34% considered the Agency to be 'fairly reliable' in 2002.
There was an increase in the number of consumers who believe that the FSA is a trustworthy organisation, provides clear information and puts consumers first
Key differences across groups
Women are more likely to be aware of food issues and more concerned about food safety
People between the ages of 16-25 and over 66 tend to be less knowledgeable and less concerned about food issues
Note
Research for the Consumer Attitudes to Food survey 2002 was carried out between September and October 2002 by Taylor Nelson Sofres for the Food Standards Agency. A total of 3173 consumers were interviewed in the UK, including 723 in Wales. Interviews were conducted face-to-face in their homes using CAPI technology.
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