Is food safety still front of mind for UK consumers? Not nearly as much as it was 20 years ago, but maybe because they have less reason to be concerned.
According to a survey done by You.Gov and commissioned by the Red Tractor Food Assurance Scheme, more than 7 in 10 adults say they take food safety for granted. The survey was done with 2,100 adults in the UK which looked at consumer confidence in food produced in the UK, as well as the food that they purchase.
Some 76 percent of people admit they take food being produced to high safety and food standards for granted, according to reports. Some 79 percent in London, who are least likely to be concerned about food safety.
“If people are now taking food safety for granted, then it demonstrates that we’ve been doing something right,” Jim Moseley, CEO, Red Tractor Assurance said. “Red Tractor was created almost two decades ago, after a spate of food scares and confidence in British food and farming was at a low.”
Though they may have fewer worries, consumers still expect high standard from food producers. In the survey, those polled said the things they value most about those purchases:
* It supports British farmers (30 percent);
* They can purchase local produce (16 percent)
* The way it is produced (14 percent);
* The quality of British food (25 percent).
In the research, there was a difference in levels of trust between supermarkets and restaurants. 71 per cent UK adults are confident that the food they buy from a supermarket has been produced to high standards and that they know where it comes from; compared to only half of people who feel confident about standards and traceability when eating out at a restaurant or cafe.
Moseley, though, was quick to point out that, “The success in driving up British food standards must not be undermined by a potential influx of imported food produced to standards that are currently deemed illegal in this country, should we be faced with a no-deal Brexit. There’s no more important time for people to recognize that not all food is produced to the same rigorous standards as the UK”
