FOOD SAFETY

he main food safety issues that concern consumers in Great Britain include food hygiene when eating out, food poisoning and the use of additives in food, according to a new survey.

The UK’s Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) latest consumer tracker survey showed 36% of those surveyed were concerned about food hygiene when eating out, while 29% were concerned about food poisoning and 27% worried about the use of additives in food.

The survey covered four main areas: awareness of the FSA and its responsibilities, trust in the FSA, food-related concerns and awareness of hygiene standards in eating establishments. The key food issues that consumers were concerned with were; food prices (54%), the amount of salt in food (45%) and food waste (42%).

Eighty percent of respondents were aware of the hygiene standards in the places they eat out in or buy food from. The main way people judged the hygiene standards were from the general appearance of the premises (65%), appearance of staff (51%) and its reputation (42%). The survey interviewed 2,105 adults in the UK. The survey has monitored UK consumer attitudes since 2001.