Food and You 2 - Wave 6

Introduction

Food and You 2 is a biannual survey which measures self-reported consumer knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and other food issues amongst adults in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The survey is primarily carried out online using a methodology known as ‘push-to-web’.

Fieldwork for Food and You 2: Wave 6 was conducted between 12th October 2022 and 10th January 2023. A total of 5,991 adults (aged 16 years or over) from 4,217 households across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland completed the survey.

Topics covered in the Food and You 2: Wave 6 Key Findings report include:

• food you can trust  
• concerns about food   
• food security   
• eating out and takeaways
• food allergies, intolerances and other hypersensitivities 
• eating at home (food safety)

Main findings

Food you can trust

Confidence in food safety and authenticity

• 93% of respondents reported that they were confident that the food they buy is safe to eat. 
• 87% of respondents were confident that the information on food labels is accurate.

Confidence in the food supply chain

• 76% of respondents reported that they had confidence in the food supply chain.
• respondents were more likely to report confidence in farmers (88%) and shops and supermarkets (85%) than in takeaways (62%), and food delivery services (45%).

Awareness, trust and confidence in the FSA

• 90% of respondents had heard of the FSA.
• 78% of respondents who had at least some knowledge of the FSA reported that they trusted the FSA to make sure 'food is safe and what it says it is.'
• 82% 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), 82% were confident that the FSA takes appropriate action if a food-related risk is identified and 79% were confident that the FSA is committed to communicating openly with the public about food-related risks. 

Concerns about food

• 82% of respondents had no concerns about the food they eat, and 18% if respondents reported that they had a concern. 
• When prompted, the most common concern was food prices (65%). Other common concerns were food waste (62%), the quality of food (61%), and the amount of food packaging (56%).

Food Security

• Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 75% of respondents were classified as food secure (61% high, 14% marginal and 25% of respondents were classified as food insecure (12% low, 12% very low). 
• 80% of respondents reported that they had made a change to their eating habits for financial reasons in the previous 12 months. 

Eating out and takeaways

• 43% of respondents reported checking the food hygiene rating of a business in the previous 12 months. 
• 86% of respondents reported that they had heard of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS). Over half (55%) of respondents reported that they had heard of the FHRS and had at least a bit of knowledge about it. 

Food allergies, intolerances and other hypersensitivities

• 12% of respondents reported that they had a food intolerance, 5% reported having a food allergy, and 1% reported having coeliac disease. Most respondents (78%) reported that they did not have a food hypersensitivity.  
• 26% of respondents who had a food hypersensitivity had been diagnosed by an NHS or private medical practitioner and 5% had been diagnosed by an alternative or complementary therapist. However, most respondents (74%) had not received any diagnosis.
• 56% of respondents who had a food hypersensitivity reported that they had experienced a reaction in the previous 12 months and 39% reported that they had not experienced a reaction. 
• 90% of respondents who go food shopping and take into consideration a person who has a food allergy or intolerance were confident the information provided on food labelling allows them to identify foods that will cause a bad or unpleasant physical reaction. 

Eating at home

Cleaning

• 46% of respondents reported that they always wash their hands before eating.
• 33% of respondents reported that they always wash their hands, or use hand sanitising gel or wipes when eating outside of their home.
• 72% of respondents reported that they always wash their hands before preparing or cooking food. 
• 91% of respondents reported that they always wash their hands immediately after handling raw meat, poultry, or fish.

Chilling 

• 62% of respondents reported that their fridge temperature should be between 0 to 5 degrees Celsius. 
• 61% of respondents who have a fridge reported that they monitored the temperature; either manually(49%) or via an internal temperature alarm (11%). 

Cooking

• 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. 

Avoiding cross-contamination

• 56% of respondents reported that they never wash raw chicken, however 40% of respondents reported that they do this at least occasionally. 
• 76% of respondents reported that they always cook food until it is steaming hot and cooked all the way through.

Use-by dates

• 65% of respondents identified the use-by-date as the information which shows that food is no longer safe to eat.
• 64% of respondents reported that they always check use-by-dates before they cook or prepare food. 

Research reports

Food and You 2 Wave 6 Key Findings

Food and You 2 Wave 6 Technical report

(this document is 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 6 report are available in our data catalogue.