A survey of consumers in Europe and the UK found that trust in the food sector is declining, but confidence in safety is high.
The Trust Report surveyed 19,642 people in 18 countries on their level of trust in the food system and found that less than half of consumers trust food. The work was carried out by Ipsos in August and September 2023 and involved people from Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The latest EIT Food Trust Report, now in its sixth year, shows that 45 percent of Europeans trust food in relation to taste, safety, health, authenticity and sustainability of food systems. it was done.
EIT Food is supported by the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT), an agency of the European Union.
safety support
The survey found that consumers are mostly confident that the food they eat is safe, with 53% believing the food is authentic.
The survey found that consumers are not concerned about food safety in their everyday purchases and are generally confident in the quality of food and how it is checked.
Durk Bosma, head of thought leadership at the Future of Food Institute, said these findings were expected and consistent with previous years.
“There is another group that gives neutral answers to questions about food safety, with 23 percent believing that food is unsafe. Don't worry. We can interpret their answer as 'not all food is safe', rather than 'all food is unsafe'.”
Regarding authenticity, 31 percent did not believe the food was authentic, and 26 percent were neutral.
The report suggests that people cannot determine authenticity themselves and must rely on other information such as packaging and labels. This information and the parties providing it are not widely trusted and may be unreliable.
The 2022 Eurobarometer on food safety in the EU found that almost half believe food safety is important and 41% take for granted that the food they buy is safe. has become clear.
trust issues
EIT Food's research reveals a decline in consumer trust in the food sector as a whole, in terms of the competency, openness and consideration of stakeholders including farmers, manufacturers, authorities, restaurants and retailers. I did.
Farmers remain the most trusted group, with 65% of consumers expressing trust in them. This was down from 67% the previous year.
Retailers are the second most trusted group, with half of consumers reporting trust in this sector, with restaurants and caterers accounting for 48 percent.
Less than half of respondents trust authorities such as food manufacturers and government agencies at national or EU level, with 27 percent and 32 percent respectively actively distrusting them.
Consumers generally trust European manufacturers to bring safe food to market, and the EU has strict regulations that producers must follow. People understand that authorities are ultimately responsible for whether food is safe.
The 2022 Eurobarometer survey found that eight in 10 scientists can be trusted with food safety information, and around two-thirds trust national and EU institutions.
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