Consumer Attitudes to Food Survey published
Thursday 22 February 2007
Healthy eating is a key concern for consumers, according to the Agency's seventh UK-wide Consumer Attitudes to Food Survey, which is published today.
It finds that there is a significant increase in awareness of the '5-a-day' message and many people check labels for nutritional information on a regular basis.
A total of 3,513 face-to-face interviews were conducted for the survey between August and October 2006.
Key trends
The 2006 survey highlights a number of diet and health trends that have emerged since 2000, including:
- A significant yearly increase in the number of consumers who are aware that they should eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. Almost an additional third of consumers are now aware that they should eat at least 5-a-day compared with 2000.
- As in previous years, the amount of fat, salt and sugar in food continues to be key issues of concern for consumers. Salt was mentioned by over half of the UK sample, and fat and sugar each by more than two fifths of respondents, when prompted with a list of possible concerns.
- A growing number of consumers say they look at nutritional information on food labels to check the fat and salt content when purchasing products for the first time.
- Almost half of people claim to be trying to increase their consumption of fresh fruit. Almost two fifths were trying to increase the amount of vegetables they eat, and almost a quarter of consumers were trying to up their consumption of salads.
- Three fifths of those interviewed agreed that they would like to have more information about the food that they buy, with almost half saying that they find it difficult to know if a product is healthy from the label.
- Two fifths of people who said they snacked in between meals, claimed to have snacked on fresh fruit. However, almost a third snacked on biscuits/cakes and a further fifth on crisps/savoury snacks.
Growing awareness
‘The number of people who say they are trying to eat more fruit and vegetables and checking their food labels for nutrition information shows a marked increase since the Agency first began these surveys in 2000.’
Gill Fine, Director of Consumer Choice and Dietary Health at the Food Standards Agency, says:
�It's encouraging that year on year this survey of over 3500 consumers shows a growing awareness about healthy eating messages regarding salt, fat and sugar and about eating at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg a day.
'The number of people who say they are trying to eat more fruit and vegetables and checking their food labels for nutrition information, shows a marked increase since the Agency first began these surveys in 2000. It's also great news that awareness and trust in the Agency amongst consumers is high and has continued to grow, during the year and is now higher than ever before.�
Along with tracking awareness of key food issues, the 2006 Consumer Attitudes Survey also highlighted steadily rising consumer awareness of the FSA and its role in providing clear consumer advice. This includes a substantial increase, from 2001, in the number of people who believe the FSA is an organisation that they can trust, and a substantial increase, from 2000, in the number who described themselves as confident about the Agency's role in protecting health with regard to food safety.
A third of people interviewed in the survey cite the FSA as an organisation that they would use for information on food safety and food scares; a quarter cited the Agency as a source of advice on healthy eating. More than half believe that the FSA provides clear information and advice.