F&Y2 Wave 5-6 NI: Chapter 1: Food you can trust

Question: How confident are you that… A) the food you buy is safe to eat. B) the information on food labels is accurate (for example, ingredients, nutritional information, country of origin). Responses: Very confident, Fairly confident, Not very confident, Not at all confident, It varies, Don’t know. Base= 1644, all online respondents and all those who completed the ‘Eating at Home’ paper questionnaire in Northern Ireland. Wave 6.

Question: How confident are you in the food supply chain? That is all the processes involved in bringing food to your table. Responses: Very confident, Fairly confident, Not very confident, Not at all confident, It varies, Don’t know. Base= 1644, all respondents in Northern Ireland. Wave 6.

Question: How confident are you that... A) Farmers, B) Slaughterhouses and dairies, C) Food manufacturers for example, factories, D) Shops and supermarkets, E) Restaurants, F) Takeaways, G) Food delivery services for example, Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats…in the UK (and Ireland) ensure the food you buy is safe to eat. Responses: Very confident, Fairly confident, Not very confident, Not at all confident, It varies, Don’t know. Base= 1327, all online respondents and all those who completed the ‘Eating Out’ paper questionnaire in Northern Ireland. Wave 6.

Question: Which of the following, if any, have you heard of? Please select all that apply. Response: Food Standards Agency, Public Health Agency, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland,  safefood. Base= 1037, all online respondents in Northern Ireland. Wave 6. Please note: All consumers taking part in the survey had received an invitation to take part in the survey from Ipsos which mentioned the Food Standards Agency. An absence of response indicates the organisation had not been heard of by the respondent or a non-response.

Question: How much, if anything, do you know about the Food Standards Agency? Response: I know a lot about the Food Standards Agency and what it does, I know a little about the Food Standards Agency and what it does, I've heard of the Food Standards Agency but know nothing about it, I hadn't heard of the Food Standards Agency until I was contacted to take part in this survey, I've never heard of the Food Standards Agency. Base= 1644, all respondents in Northern Ireland. Wave 6. Please note: All consumers taking part in the survey had received an invitation to take part in the survey which mentioned the Food Standards Agency. Due to rounding, percentages may not add up to 100%.

Data for respondents aged 16-24 years and those aged 80 years and over is not reported due to a small number of respondents being in this group.

Question: How much do you trust or distrust the Food Standards Agency to do its job? That is to make sure that food is safe and what it says it is. Responses: I trust it a lot, I trust it, I neither trust nor distrust it, I distrust it, I distrust it a lot, Don’t know. Base= 954, all respondents who know a lot or a little about the Food Standards Agency and what it does in Northern Ireland except where England, Wales and NI differences are stated. Wave 6. Please note: ‘I trust it a lot’ and ‘I trust it’ referred to as trust.

Question: How confident are you that the Food Standards Agency / the government agency responsible for food safety in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...A) Can be relied upon to protect the public from food-related risks (such as food poisoning or allergic reactions from food). B) Is committed to communicating openly with the public about food-related risks. C) Takes appropriate action if a food-related risk is identified? Responses: Very confident, Fairly confident, Not very confident, Not at all confident, Don’t know. Base= 1644, all respondents in Northern Ireland. Wave 6. Please note: ‘Very confident’ and ‘Fairly confident’ referred to as confident. Respondents with little or no knowledge of the Food Standards Agency were asked about ‘the government agency responsible for food safety’, those with at least some knowledge of the Food Standards Agency were asked about the Food Standards Agency.