352: Food survey - biggest consumer concerns revealed

<div>What is the state of the relationship between consumers and the food industry?<br> <br> What do consumers think about the food they eat? How safe do they consider the food they buy to be? And what can the food industry learn from tracking consumer behaviour?<br> <br> In the UK, many of those questions can be answered by looking at the results of the Food Standards Agency's flagship <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/research/food-and-you-2">Food and You 2 Survey</a>.<br> <br> We all have individual concerns and behaviours around food, but what do these individual preferences add up to when scaled to the national level? And how can the food industry use that information?<br> <br> According to the survey, the biggest consumer concerns are <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/podcast/how-cutting-food-waste-is-hitting-food-banks-food-podcasts/">food waste</a>, the amount of <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/article/truth-about-sweeteners-pros-cons-sugar-substitutes/">sugar</a> in food, and <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/article/eat-data-plant-based/">animal welfare</a>. <br> <br> <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/article/fsa-food-and-you-2-consumer-food-habits/">More than 50% of respondents reported feeling worried about these issues.<br> </a><br> The environment has shown itself to be a key issue too, with one third of people who responded to the survey saying they have intentionally bought food which has a low environmental impact.<br> <br> Consumer confidence appears high, with 92% saying they believe food bought in Britain is safe to eat.<br> <br> Listen to the full episode to find out more about the survey's results, how the data is being used in the food industry and beyond, and how the <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/article/one-in-7-brits-skipping-meals-cost-of-living-crisis-tuc-findings/">cost of living crisis</a> is already having an impact on people's behaviour around food.<br> <br> <strong>Michelle Patel, Food Standards Agency<br> </strong><br> Michelle Patel is the Deputy Director of