Food survey results

The results of the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA’s) biannual Public Attitudes Tracker for November 2014 have been published.

The top three food safety issues of total (ie spontaneous plus prompted) concern for respondents were food hygiene when eating out (39%), food poisoning (32%), the use of additives in food products (29%) and date labels (29%).

The top wider food issues of total concern were food prices (50%), food waste (48%) and the amount of sugar in food (47%).

50% of respondents reported concern about food safety in UK restaurants, pubs, cafes and takeaways; while 45% of respondents reported concern about food safety in shops and supermarkets.

78% of respondents reported being aware of the FSA, with the main issue respondents reported the FSA to be responsible for being ensuring food bought is safe to eat (89%). Of those who reported being aware of the FSA, 65% said they trusted, and only 7% said they distrusted, the FSA to do its job.

85% of respondents reported being aware of the hygiene standards in places they eat out at or buy food from. Of these respondents, 46% reported hygiene certificates and 35% reported hygiene stickers as ways of knowing about hygiene standards.