Research project
Food and You 2: Wave 10
Research from Food and You 2: Wave 10.
Executive Summary
Food and You 2 is a biannual ‘official statistic’ survey commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) (footnote 1). The survey measures consumers’ self-reported knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and other food issues amongst adults in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Fieldwork for Food and You 2: Wave 10 was conducted between 9th October 2024 and 7th February 2025. A total of 5,690 adults (aged 16 years or over) from 3,965 households across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland completed the ‘push-to-web’ survey.
The modules presented in this report include ‘Food you can trust’, ‘Food security’, ‘Eating at home (core)’, ‘Food hypersensitivities’, ‘Eating out and takeaways’.
Food you can trust
Confidence in food safety and authenticity
• 94% of respondents reported that they were confident that the food they buy is safe to eat and 86% were confident that the information on food labels is accurate.
Confidence in the food supply chain
• 77% of respondents reported that they had confidence in the food supply chain.
Awareness, trust and confidence in the FSA
• 78% of respondents who had at least some knowledge of the FSA reported that they trusted the FSA to do its job, to make sure ‘food is safe and what it says it is’.
• 83% of respondents reported that they were confident that the FSA (or the government agency responsible for food safety) can be relied upon to protect the public from food-related risks (such as food poisoning or allergic reactions from food), 81% were confident that the FSA takes appropriate action if a food-related risk is identified, and 77% were confident that the FSA is committed to communicating openly with the public about food-related risks.
Concerns about food outside the UK
• Respondents were more likely to have concerns about food produced outside the UK being safe and hygienic (65%) and what it says it is (64%) compared to food produced inside the UK (both 38%).
Food security
• Across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, 80% of respondents were classified as food secure (68% high, 12% marginal) and 20% of respondents were classified as food insecure (10% low, 10% very low).
• Most respondents (94%) reported that they had not used a food bank or other emergency food provider in the last 12 months, with 3% of respondents reporting that they had.
Eating out and takeaways
• 89% of respondents reported that they had heard of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS).
• Respondents in Wales (73%) and Northern Ireland (66%) were more likely to report that they had heard of the FHRS and had at least a bit of knowledge of the FHRS compared to those in England (61%).
• 44% of respondents reported checking the food hygiene rating of a business in the previous 12 months.
Food allergies, intolerances and other hypersensitivities
• 12% of respondents reported that they have a food intolerance, 4% reported having a food allergy, and 1% reported having coeliac disease.
• When eating out, respondents were more likely to feel confident that information provided in writing (87%) would allow them to identify and avoid food that might cause a bad or unpleasant physical reaction than information provided verbally by a member of staff from a food business (63%).
Eating at home
Cleaning
• 70% of respondents reported that they always wash their hands before preparing or cooking food, and 92% reported that they always wash their hands immediately after handling raw meat, poultry, or fish.
Chilling
• 60% of respondents correctly reported that their fridge temperature should be between 0-5 degrees Celsius.
• 60% of respondents who have a fridge reported that they monitored the temperature; either manually (49%) or via an internal temperature alarm (11%).
Cooking
• 80% of respondents reported that they always cook food until it is steaming hot and cooked all the way through, however 19% reported that they do not always do this.
• 89% of respondents reported that they never eat chicken or turkey when it is pink or has pink juices. However, 9% of respondents reported eating chicken or turkey at least occasionally when it is pink or has pink juices.
• 81% of respondents reported that they would only reheat food once, 10% would reheat food twice, and 3% would reheat food more than twice.
Avoiding cross-contamination
• 58% of respondents reported that they never wash raw chicken, however, 39% of respondents reported that they do this at least occasionally.
• 62% of respondents reported storing raw meat and poultry at the bottom of the fridge.
Use-by dates
• 64% of respondents identified the use-by date as the information which shows that food is no longer safe to eat.
• 65% of respondents reported that they always check use-by dates before they cook or prepare food.
Changes to eating habits
• The most common changes reported by respondents were that they had eaten less processed food (47%), started eating more fruit and/or vegetables (35%) and started minimising food waste (35%).
Technical report
England, Northern Ireland and Wales
England, Northern Ireland and Wales
(These documents are not fully accessible, should you require an alternative format please get in touch with fsa.communications@food.gov.uk)
Data tables
The data tables for the Wave 10 report are available in our data catalogue