The survey asked more than 2,000 UK adults to investigate people’s concerns about the food they buy and whether their confidence in UK produce has been restored.
Over the last three decades the UK has experienced food scares such as salmonella and outbreaks of BSE (mad cow disease). The survey found 76% of people admit they take food safety standards for granted (rising to 79% in London).
The research also revealed people have more confidence in supermarkets (71%) compared to only half who feel confident about the standards and traceability when eating at a restaurant or a café.
Of all the high profile food crises over the past few decades BSE was the most concerning with 72% of Brits admitting to being fairly or very concerned.
Jim Moseley, chief executive of Red Tractor Assurance, said: “If people are now taking food safety for granted, then it demonstrates that we’ve been doing something right.
“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. Our standards were designed to ensure food that is produced is safe, traceable and farmed carefully, in order to transform and rebuild trust in British farming and food quality from farm to pack.
“There is one simple way we can all help foster a better future for British agriculture, farmers, growers and producers, is to look for the Red Tractor logo when grocery shopping or dining out.”
The research also shows that media reporting influences the way Brits think about food safety. Forty-one percent of people think about food safety every time they go out shopping to buy food, but this rises to 52% when they see a big story about it in the news.
Britain has ‘world leading food production standards’, which helps to safeguard the UK from some of the outbreaks and food contamination incidents seen in other countries.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 17% of people in the USA suffer from foodborne illnesses each year compared with just 1.5% in the UK.