EWCB 2022: Introduction

Background

The Eating Well Choosing Better (EWCB) programme was developed by the FSA to support small and medium sized food businesses in NI to reduce the calorie, sugar, saturated fat, and salt content of the food they produce, sell, or serve, as well as reducing portion sizes to help consumers make healthier choices. The overall aim is to improve the nutritional quality of everyday foods available to NI consumers.  

The objectives of the EWCB programme include working in partnership with SMEs and appropriate stakeholders to support the NI food industry to engage with food product improvement and monitoring changes in NI consumers’ attitudes towards food product improvement.  

The purpose of this report is to present the findings of the 2022 EWCB survey.  

Objectives 

The objectives of the EWCB survey are to monitor NI consumers’:  

• understanding of healthy eating
• understanding of the daily recommended calorie intake
• understanding of, and use of the multiple traffic light label
• attitudes and behaviours towards reformulation including reduced portion sizes
• attitudes and behaviours towards healthier options outside the home