food quality (5)

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The Consumer Insights tracker provides up-to-date findings each month on consumer behaviour and attitudes in relation to the following topics:

  • Food insecurity (including food affordability)
  • Food availability 
  • Consumer concerns in relation to food
  • Confidence in the food supply chain and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as a regulator

This monthly bulletin summaries the key findings for each of these topics from wave 18 of the survey (conducted 13 – 15 January 2023).

Key Findings

Food Affordability and Food Insecurity

  • 15% of participants reported that they had used a food bank or food charity at least once in the last month. 
  • 25% of participants reported that they had skipped a meal or cut down the size of their meals because they did not have enough money to buy food in the last month.
  • 29% of participants reported feeling worried about being able to afford food in the next month.
  • 81% of participants reported feeling concerned about food prices. 
  • 69% of participants reported that their shopping had ‘got more expensive’ in the past week. 

Food Availability

  • 30% of participants reported feeling worried about there not being enough food available for them/their household to buy in the next month.

Food Safety Behaviours to reduce energy bills

  • 16% of participants turned off a fridge and/or freezer containing food 
  • 24% of participants changed the settings on their fridge and/or freezer so that food is kept at a warmer temperature 
  • 25% of participants lowered the cooking temperature for food 
  • 27% of participants reduced the length of time that food is cooked for 
  • 60% of participants used cheaper cooking methods (e.g., using a microwave, air fryer or slow cooker) instead of an oven to heat or cook food .

Concerns about the Food Industry

  • 54% of participants reported feeling concerned about the healthiness of the food in their personal diet. 
  • 56% of participants reported feeling concerned about animal welfare in the food industry. 
  • 56% of participants reported feeling concerned about sustainability/the impact of food production on the environment. 
  • 38% of participants felt concerned about the safety of food produced in the UK, compared to 50% who felt concerned about the safety of food imported from outside the UK.
  • 40% of participants felt concerned about the quality of food produced in the UK, compared to 50% who felt concerned about the quality of food imported from outside the UK.

Confidence in the Food Supply Chain

The proportion of participants who reported that they were ‘confident’ in the food supply chain was 65% in January 2023. This is in line with the previous month (65%, December 2022), but is significantly lower than the year prior (70%, January 2022).

  • 76% of participants felt confident that those involved in the food supply chain in the UK ensure that food is safe to eat. 
  • 70% of participants felt confident that those involved in the food supply chain in the UK ensure food is of a high quality. 
  • 52% of participants felt confident that those involved in the food supply chain in the UK ensure that there are affordable food options for everyone. 
  • 66% felt confident that those involved in the food supply chain in the UK ensure there is enough food available for people to eat. 

Monthly data tables are available to download via the FSA’s data catalogue. Tracker bulletins dating back to April 2022 are available to view via the Consumer insights tracker webpage. More detailed commentary, and timeseries analysis is published periodically on the Consumer Insights tracker webpage.  

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Food fraud has beset governments for centuries, and the legal responses to it have been uniquely suited to the sensibilities of the time.

This publication follows the concept of food fraud described to occur when a fraudster intentionally deceives a customer about the quality and/or contents of the foods they wish to purchase, and such act is done to obtain an undue advantage, most often economic, for the fraudster.

The vastness and complexity of food fraud, and the versatility in regulatory approaches can challenge national governments in their attempts to develop a coherent, focused approach to food fraud. To respond to this challenge, this paper introduces the available international regulatory guidance and the potential legal strategies at the national and regional level. It identifies and analyses some of the regulatory approaches to food fraud that countries have chosen and pays attention to the role of the private sector in food fraud regulation.

Read full report: https://doi.org/10.4060/cb9035en

This report has been added to the 'Policy-Guidance-Law' section of our website.

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9096096860?profile=RESIZE_584xIn March 2021, the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific published a booklet entitled “Food fraud – Intention, detection and management”. This concise resource explains the key aspects of food fraud, and discusses a set of measures that food safety authorities can take to stop food fraud. Among these, legal interventions combined with the use of new technologies are promising tools.

Examples of these interventions, such as adopting a definition for food fraud and implementing food standards as well as applying DNA barcoding and blockchain technology, are included in the booklet. Links are readily available in the booklet for those who wish to have greater know-how on the guidance on food labelling, technological interventions and food import and export certification systems provided by FAO and the Codex Alimentarius.

Download the publication:
FAO Food safety toolkit booklet 5 - Food fraud – Intention, detection and management

For more information:

 

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8388578865?profile=RESIZE_710x14 arrested in Spain and investigations underway in France.
 

The Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil), supported by the French Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale) and Europol have dismantled an organised crime group involved in the production, distribution and sale of alleged organic pistachios which did not meet required ecological standards. 

The operation began in 2019, with various reports of ecological certifications being misused on pistachios that did not adhere to set agricultural standards. The Spanish Civil Guard detected a mix of organic and non-organic pistachio nuts that contained pesticides (including glyphosate and chlorate), illegal under requisites imposed by the Spanish agricultural sector. 

The investigation uncovered that the illegal pesticides were being used to better the quality and quantity of the harvests and increase the monetary value of the production. Marketed as organic the nuts were sold for up to 80% over the retail price of non-organic pistachios. The nuts from the main Spanish distributor were also being sold in France under false organic certifications. 

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