F&Y2 Wave 5-6 NI: Executive Summary

Overview of Food and You 2

Food and You 2 is a biannual ‘Official Statistic’ survey commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The survey measures self-reported consumers’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and other food issues amongst adults in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

This report presents the findings from Waves 5 and 6 of the Food and You 2 survey, collected from respondents in Northern Ireland.

Wave 5 fieldwork was conducted between 26th April and 24th July 2022 and Wave 6 fieldwork was conducted between 12th October 2022 and 10th January 2023.

A total of 1,875 adults in Northern Ireland took part in Wave 5 and 1,644 adults in Northern Ireland took part in Wave 6.

The modules presented in this report include ‘Food you can trust’, ‘Concerns about food’, ’Food security’, ‘Eating out and takeaways’, ‘Food allergies, intolerances and other hypersensitivities’, ‘Eating at home’ and ‘Food shopping and labelling’.

Findings presented in this report refer to data collected in Northern Ireland unless otherwise specified. Where the same data were collected in both Waves 5 and 6, the findings from Wave 6 are reported.

Key findings

Food you can trust

Confidence in food safety and authenticity 

• 92% 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% reported that they had confidence in the food supply chain. 
• respondents were more likely to report confidence in farmers (88%), shops and supermarkets (84%), and restaurants (83%) than in takeaways (68%), and food delivery services for example, Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats (44%).

Awareness, trust and confidence in the FSA

• 91% had heard of the FSA. 
• 82% 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’. 
• 85% 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). 80% were confident that the FSA is committed to communicating openly with the public about food-related risks, and 83% were confident that the FSA takes appropriate action if a food-related risk is identified.

Concerns about food 

• 81% had no concerns about the food they eat, and 19% of respondents reported that they had a concern. 
• respondents were asked to indicate if they had concerns about a number of food-related issues, from a list of options. The most common concerns related to food prices (69%), the quality of food (59%) and food waste (56%).

Food security 

• 74% of respondents were classified as food secure (59% high, 15% marginal) and 26% of respondents were classified as food insecure (13% low, 13% very low).

Eating out and takeaways 

• 66% of respondents had ordered a takeaway directly from a takeaway shop or restaurant or eaten food from a café, coffee shop or sandwich shop (either to eat in or take out) in the last 4 weeks. 
• 91% reported that they had heard of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS). 65% of respondents reported that they had heard of the FHRS and had at least a bit of knowledge about it.
• 48% of respondents had checked the hygiene rating of a food business in the last 12 months.

Food allergies, intolerances and other hypersensitivities 

• 80% reported that they did not have a food hypersensitivity. 10% of respondents reported that they had a food intolerance, 3% reported having a food allergy, and 1% reported having coeliac disease.

Confidence in allergen labelling

• 92% who go food shopping and take into consideration a person who has a food allergy or intolerance were confident that the information provided on food labelling allows them to identify foods that will cause a bad or unpleasant physical reaction. 
• respondents who bought food loose were more confident in identifying foods that would cause them or a member of their household a bad or unpleasant reaction at independent food shops (72%), in-store at a supermarket (69%) and when buying food from a supermarket online (64%). However, respondents were less confident when buying food from food markets or stalls (52%).

Eating at home 

Eating at home- Use-by dates 

• 71% of respondents identified the use-by date as the information which shows that food is no longer safe to eat. 

• 75% of respondents reported that they always check use-by dates before they cook or prepare food. 

• most respondents reported that they check the use-by (90%) or best before (90%) date always or most of the time when they buy food.

Food shopping and labelling 

Food shopping and labelling- Where do respondents buy food from?

• most respondents reported that they bought food from a supermarket or mini supermarket (84%), or local / corner shops, newsagents or garage forecourts (65%) about once a week or more often.