English Cymraeg

Public attitudes towards the FSA

England specific

Food and You 2 statistics explained and how they present public attitudes towards the FSA.

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Food and You 2 is our flagship consumer survey and is an Official Statistic. It replaced Food and You and the Public Attitudes Tracker in 2020. Food and You 2 is designed to: 

  • provide representative data on consumers’ self-reported knowledge, attitudes and behaviour relating to the FSA’s policy priorities (such as food safety)
  • monitor trends in consumers’ concerns, attitudes and behaviour over time
  • understand differences between different consumer groups

The first wave of Food and You 2 fieldwork was launched in July 2020, providing a new baseline (Food and You 2 cannot be compared to Food and You or the Public Attitudes Tracker due to methodological differences). Wave 2 fieldwork (which included questions on FHRS and food safety) findings were published in July 2021. The findings (including updated figures for confidence in food safety and the FSA) from Wave 3 were published on 26 January 2022. In Wave 3, a total of 6,271 adults from 4,338 households across England, Wales and Northern Ireland completed the survey. A summary of key findings is presented below:

Figure 2: Awareness, trust and knowledge of the FSA

Chart shows outcomes from 3 waves of the Food and You 2 survey. In January 2022, 90% of respondents had heard of the FSA, down from 92% in July 2021 and 91% in March 2021. Of those, 75% reported some knowledge of the FSA, down from 78% in July 2021 and consistent with 75% in March 2021. Of those, 60% trusted the FSA to make sure ‘food is safe and what it says it is’, increasing from 52% in July 2021 and 57% in March 2021.

Out of 6,271 respondents in wave 3 of the Food and You 2 consumer survey:

90% had heard of the FSA. Out of those that had heard of the FSA 60% had some knowledge of the FSA. Out of those had some knowledge of the FSA, 75% reported that they trusted the FSA to make sure 'food is safe and what it says it is'.

Figure 3: Confidence in food safety and authenticity

Chart shows outcomes from 3 waves of the Food and You 2 survey. In January 2022, 90% of respondents reported being confident that food they bought was safe to eat, down from 93% in July 2021 and 92% in March 2021. In January 2022, 83% of respondents were confident that information on food labels is accurate, down from 89% in July 2021 and 86% in March 2021.

Respondents to Wave 3 (January 2022 findings), reported the following:

  • 90% reported that they were confident that the food they buy is safe to eat. 
  • 83% respondents were confident that the information on food labels is accurate
  • 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 takeaways (56%) and food delivery services (41%).

Figure 4: Confidence in food safety and authenticity

Chart shows outcomes from 3 waves of the Food and You 2 survey in March 2021, July 2021 and January 2021. Overall, 83% said the FSA can be relied upon to protect the public from food-related risks. 77% said the FSA is committed to communicating openly with the public about food-related risks. 80% said the FSA takes appropriate action if a food related risk is identified.
  • 83% were confident in the FSA protecting the public from food-related risks. 
  • 77% were confident in the FSA communicating openly with the public about food-related risks. 
  • 80% reported that they had confidence in the food supply chain. 

Back to the Main report: Activities and Performances 2021/22.

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