Food and You 2 - Wave 2

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 was conducted between 26 April and 24 July 2022. A total of 6,770 adults from 4,727 households across England, Wales and Northern Ireland completed the survey. Topics covered in the Food and You 2: Wave 5 Key Findings report include: food you can trust concerns about food food security food shopping and labelling online platforms eating at home (food safety) food-related behaviours and eating habits

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 (Opens in a new window) fieldwork was conducted between 26th April and 24th July 2022 and Wave 6 (Opens in a new window) 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.

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. Fieldwork for Food and You 2: Wave 3 was conducted between 28th April and 25th June 2021. A total of 6,271 adults from 4,338 households (an overall response rate of 31%) across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland completed the ‘push-to-web’ survey (see Annex A for more information about the methodology). This survey was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic and so it records the reported attitudes and behaviours under unusual circumstances which have had a significant impact on how and where people buy and eat food, and on levels of household food insecurity. The modules presented in this report include ‘Food we can trust’, ‘Concerns about food’, ’Food security’, ‘Food shopping and labelling, ‘Online platforms’ and ‘Food-related behaviours and eating habits’

Total food chain safety: how good practices can contribute?

Consumer attitudes, knowledge and behaviour: a review of food safety issues

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to ascertain the attitudes of people towards issues of food safety, food security and sustainability. For this, an empirical study was conducted on visitors to the event Milan Expo 2015. Particular attention was paid to any greater propensity to purchase products from socially responsible agri-food companies and whether the event might have contributed to enrich the baggage of their knowledge on the issues of sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and to influence future buying behaviour.Design/methodology/approachDifferent groups of visiting consumers were identified through cluster analysis in order to segment and divide visitors into groups based on their approach to food safety, food security and sustainability, their willingness to pay for products from companies practising CSR, and the impact of the event on their future buying behaviour.FindingsThe results showed a positive attitude of respondents towards issues of food safety, food security and sustainability in general and to the purchase of sustainable food products. However, due to shortcomings in the communication strategy used by companies attending the event, the sample of visitors did not enrich their knowledge on sustainability and CSR. The impact of Expo 2015 on future buying behaviour was far from impressive.Originality/valueThe findings are particularly useful for the future development of the reputation and profitability of food companies, for the enrichment of knowledge concerning CSR-oriented food companies and to increase the price of products from socially responsible agri-food companies.

Food security and safety issues have been central to Extension programming since its inception, but emerging concerns over the issues of food waste and system inefficiency have brought new challenges to the forefront. Social change ideas related to reducing food waste include use of secondary quality produce, date label elimination, repurposing of food scraps, and donation and gleaning of food. Implementation of these ideas often intersects with issues of food safety. Therefore, it is incumbent on Extension professionals nationwide to consider how best to use content and expertise to address modern food security, food waste, and food safety challenges.

PurposeThis study aims to focus on the food industry and empirically examine the mediating role of consumers’ perceived food safety on the relationship between a company’s service recovery and customer loyalty. In addition, consumers’ demographic characteristics and their influences on the relationship between perceived food safety and customer loyalty are determined.Design/methodology/approachA survey was carried out through a structured questionnaire which was administered to the public. Using a small intercept interview, a random sample of 836 usable questionnaires was collected in Greece. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to validate the proposed constructs. The causal relationships among constructs were examined using structural equation modeling.FindingsAccording to the findings, consumers’ perceived food safety partially mediates the effect of a company’s service recovery on customer loyalty. The socio-demographic profile of consumers (gender, marital and parenthood status) also significantly influences the underlying factors of product and the loyalty attributes.Practical implicationsThis study enriches the existing literature of food safety by examining the distinct role that consumers’ perceptions play in forming loyalty, highlighting the importance of companies’ recovery efforts. The results obtained from this analysis offer a better understanding of consumer behavior toward food safety – encouraging and supporting food companies to successfully design their marketing strategies. Food safety issues also have become increasingly important in international trade, which makes it essential to understand consumer perceptions and behavior toward food safety.Originality/valueThis study fills the identified literature gap and contributes to the literature, as no previous study has examined the proposed relationships in the food sector, taking into consideration food safety issues.

Barcoding animal species

Background: Poor oral health remains a significant dental public health challenge for ethnic minority and immigrant groups living in the UK. This study aimed to evaluate a culturally appropriate community-based home visiting oral health education intervention for Chinese, undocumented migrant mothers to promote their infants’ oral health, by focusing on their oral health related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Methods: A convenience sample of 36 Chinese mothers with babies aged less than eight weeks were recruited in South-East region of Belfast. The local Chinese community was consulted to assist with the development of the intervention. The oral health education intervention was provided to 19 intervention group mothers through home visits and telephone calls during mothers’ first postpartum year. They were also provided with unlimited social support during the intervention period. Mothers’ oral health related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding baby toothbrushing and sugar snacking were measured at eight weeks, six months, and 12 months. Results: A higher proportion of Chinese intervention group mothers had improved knowledge about baby toothbrushing at 12 months compared with control group mothers (χ2 = 14.12: p = 0.004). Significantly, more intervention group mothers’ oral health related attitudes were enhanced regarding baby toothbrushing and sugar snacking compared with control group mothers. Conclusion: This community-based oral health education intervention has shown effects in mothers’ self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in the intervention group when the community based and culturally appropriate home-visiting program improved the mothers’ oral health related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.

This paper is derived from a larger scale project investigating consumer attitudes towards organic food in the UK. Presents focus group results on consumer perceptions, attitudes and behaviour in relation to two key interrelated food trends: organic food and animal welfare. The results indicate that consumers often confuse organic and free‐range products because they believe that “organic” is equivalent to “free‐range” food. Focus group discussions were conducted to identify the main beliefs and attitudes towards organic food of both organic and non‐organic food buyers. Results indicate that, although health and food safety concerns are the main motives for organic food purchases, ethical concerns, specifically in relation to standards of animal welfare, play a significant influencing role in the decision to purchase organic food. The results are consistent with parallel research into consumer concerns about animal welfare, which showed that consumers are primarily concerned about food safety issues. Furthermore, the research illustrates the central outcome that animal welfare is used by consumers as an indicator of other, more important product attributes, such as safety and the impact on health. Indeed, ethical considerations seem to motivate the purchase of organic food and free‐range products and, therefore, may be viewed as interrelated. However, such ethical frameworks are closely related, if not contingent upon, the quality of the product, which includes perceptions of higher standards of safety and healthiness. Based on the qualitative data, suggests that the organic market could take advantage of research on consumer motivation to buy free‐range products, by embodying ethical concerns as an indicator of product quality.

The issue of food fraud, safety and contaminants remains a topic of public concern, as it has been aligned to potential food scarcity. However, nanotechnology presents a promising opportunity for improving various industries, including food, agriculture, and health. This article aims to examine the potential of nanotechnology in enhancing food safety in Ghana, and its efficacy in addressing prevalent food safety challenges. Nano‐based approaches, such as nano‐packaging, nano‐sensing, nano‐additives, and other nano‐techniques, are discussed as effective methods for addressing major and emerging food safety issues in Ghana, such as food contaminants, antimicrobial resistance, food fraud and adulteration, and poor sanitary conditions. Additionally, the ethical and safety implications of these nano‐based approaches and particles are also deliberated.

Despite the fact that in the developed countries food safety standards are higher than ever, food safety incidents continue to occur frequently. The accumulation of food safety incidents might affect general consumer confidence in the safety of food. Therefore, in this thesis, the concept of general consumer confidence in the safety of food is further conceptualised, and embedded within an integrative framework that incorporates both its antecedents and consequences. General consumer confidence in the safety of food is determined by 1) consumer trust in societal actors, 2) consumer recall of food safety incidents and media coverage, 3) the perceived safety of different product groups, and 4) socio-demographic and personality characteristics. The behavioural consequences of general consumer confidence relate to information search and particular food choice behaviours. A measure for general consumer confidence in the safety of food is developed, showing that the construct consists of two distinct, although correlated, dimensions: optimism and pessimism. In the thesis, the construct of general consumer confidence in the safety of food is validated within its nomological network. The results show that optimism and pessimism are activated by different sources, and that consumer trust in societal actors, and consumer perceptions of the safety of meat are the strongest determinants of general consumer confidence in the safety of food. The framework is shown to be stable over time, and found to be applicable to an international context. In terms of the relationship between general consumer confidence in the safety of food and its behavioural consequences, it is shown that consumers low in general confidence in the safety of food are more likely to revert to specific risk relief strategies. A more in depth analysis of the role of trust in societal actors in shaping general consumer confidence in the safety of food, shows that the strength of the relationship between trust and general consumer confidence in the safety of food depends on the specific food chain actor, the specific dimension of trust, as well as the specific combinations between actors and different dimensions of trust. Overall, this thesis has extended existing research that largely focused on consumer perceptions of specific food-related hazards, by developing and validating an integrative framework of general consumer confidence in the safety of food. This research informs stakeholders that share responsibility on food safety about how confidence develops in the complex environment of the food production system, and provides risk managers and communicators, as well as other stakeholders, with important insights and tools to better respond to consumer concerns about food safety issues.

Nanomaterials-assisted CRISPR/Cas detection for food safety: Advances, challenges and future prospects

This study reviews the relationship between sociodemographic variables and food safety, and assesses how sociodemographic variables relate to three different food hazards in the food chain—pesticides, Salmonella, and fat. Our results revealed that women and blacks were more likely to have high levels of concern about food safety than were men and whites. Also, the level of concern increased with age. A respondent's percived vulnerability to that risk may explain differences across risks.