Latest results from the FSA's new Consumer Insights Tracker published

What is the tracker?

The Consumer Insights Tracker is the FSA’s monthly tracking survey that monitors changes in consumers’ behaviour and attitudes in relation to food.

Each month, the survey is conducted with approximately 2,000 adults (aged 16 or over) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who are signed up to YouGov’s online survey panel.

Key findings from September

In September 2023 when respondents were asked how concerned they felt about a range of food-related topics, the issues that were of concern to the highest number of respondents were:

1. Food prices (90% concerned)
2. Food poverty and food inequality (76% concerned)
3. Ultra-processed, or the over-processing of, food (75% concerned)
4. Animal welfare in the food industry (72% concerned)
5. The ‘healthiness’ of people’s diets in general (71% concerned)

More findings from our Consumer Insights Tracker September 2023 are available on our website.

Background

The Consumer Insights Tracker complements the FSA's flagship Food and You 2 survey which collects more robust data on a biannual basis, providing longer term monitoring of consumer behaviour and attitudes over time. 

These insights inform our policy-makers and stakeholders in the work they do and help the FSA act in the best interest of consumers.

The FSA have been conducting monthly surveys with consumers since April 2020. Following a review of the survey conducted by our Advisory Committee for Social Science, the survey was recommissioned in early 2023 and a new reinvigorated survey went into field in July 2023. 

Although some questions have remained the same, due to changes in how the data are collected, it is not possible to make direct comparisons between the new survey (conducted from July 2023) and earlier surveys. 

Next steps

Results will be published on a monthly basis going forward, with the October results expected to publish mid-November.