Most respondents (92%) reported that they were confident that the food they buy is safe to eat and 86% respondents were confident that the information on food labels is accurate.
Emily Miles, chief executive at the FSA, said: “As well as giving us an important insight into the FSA’s core responsibility of food safety, Food and You 2 also provides us with a detailed snapshot of peoples’ perceptions and behaviours on food-related issues, including sustainability, food security, and their diets.
“The FSA’s new strategy committed it to helping the governments we serve in Westminster, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure food is healthier and more sustainable, as well as being safe and what it says it is. This insight is part of the evidence we provide so that consumers’ perspectives on the food they eat are heard.”
Around half of respondents had eaten food in a restaurant (53%), from a café, coffee shop or sandwich shop (52%) or ordered a takeaway directly from a takeaway shop or restaurant (50%) in the previous four weeks.
Of the respondents who reported having a food allergy, the most common foods reported as causing a reaction were peanuts (26%) and fruit (24%). Over half of respondents (56%) reported that they never wash raw chicken.
Half (50%) of respondents thought that eating less processed food and 47% thought that minimising food waste contributed most to someone having a sustainable diet. Most respondents (59%) thought that buying locally produced food or food that is in season contributed most to someone making sustainable food shopping choices.
For more details of the survey, visit here.