Current meat issues – the consumer view

Sue DaviesChief Policy Adviser

Current meat issues – the consumer view

Which? Future of Food Debate and consumer priorities The consumer response to the horsemeat affair Lessons and action needed

The Which? Future of Food Debate Four 2 day juries (12 to 14 people) in September 2012 in Belfast,

Cardiff, Glasgow and London.

Four key challenges in the context of wider food issues:Diet and healthEnvironmental issuesFood prices rises and volatilityFood security and future production options

Supplemented by: a quantitative and representative survey of over 2000 people (October 2012) a travelling video booth (Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester, Swansea) a quantitative and representative survey of over 2000 people following the horsemeat incidents (February 2013).

Most important factors when buying food in the supermarket

Q. When shopping for food in the supermarket, how important or unimportant are each of the following factors when choosing what products to buy? Base: All respondents (2114)

Agree

Disagree

96% 3%

95% 3%

93% 5%

86% 11%

86% 12%

83% 15%

69% 29%

68% 29%

63% 35%

61% 37%

56% 41%

53% 44%

Most important factors when eating out

Q. When choosing food when eating out how important or unimportant are each of the following factors when choosing what products to buy? Base: All respondents (2114)

Agree

Disagree

94% 3%

94% 3%

88% 9%

84% 12%

82% 14%

66% 30%

61% 34%

55% 41%

52% 44%

49% 47%

47% 48%

43% 52%

Issues that have become more or less important in the economic climate

24%

18%

25%

15%

15%

16%

22%

18%

24%

32%

35%

65%Price

Quality

Taste

Health/ nutritional content

Buying foods in season

Locally produced

Animal welfare

Fairtrade

Environmental impact

Ingredients

Convenience

Food safety

More important due to the economic climate

Less important due to the economic climate

Q. Has the current economic climate made any of the following factors more or less

important to you when shopping for food in the supermarket? Base: All respondents (2114 )

-9%

-16%

-10%

-19%

-19%

-15%

-17%

-19%

-12%

-8%

-10%

-4%

Issues that have become more or less important in the current economic climate when buying meat/ meat products (October 2012)

7%

10%

15%

15%

19%

21%

23%

23%

26%

26%From discount supermarkets

(1905)

Value-brand (1936)

Frozen meat (1946)

UK produced (2005)

Free Range (1979)

From independent butchers/ farmers

markets (1958)

Tinned meat (1879))

Farm Assured (1989)

From premium supermarkets (1938)

Organic (1920)

More likely to purchase due to the economic climate

Less likely to purchase due to the economic climate

Q. Has the current economic climate made you more likely or less likely to purchase the following

types of meat/ meat products, or has it made no difference? Base: All respondents exclu n/a

35%

28%

12%

14%

19%

13%

10%

10%

12%

12%

Key themes to emerge from the citizens’ juries

Price dominated people’s choices, but quality and taste were also key.People were generally aware of diet and health issues but had little awareness of concerns around food security and sustainability.Once explained, many people became engaged and wanted more information.There was a call for greater government leadership – strategy and co-ordination.People thought there needed to be a shared responsibility. People thought there needed to be a mixed approach to food production methods.Greater transparency was called for around new technologies.Clearer information was wanted about how to make more sustainable choices.

“A lot of the kind of information people got [about environmental

impact of food], they felt they hadn’t heard before, it was news to

them. We thought it should be more in the public domain, that kind of information.” (Glasgow)

Most people feel they need more information on the quality of the ingredients in the food they buy

Q. When shopping for food in the supermarket do you feel you need any more information

about the following, or not? Base: All respondents (2114 )

Limited awareness of existing ethical and environmental labelling schemes (October 2012)

Q. Before today, which if any, of the following food labelling schemes have you heard of?

Base: All respondents (2114)

Horsemeat – key findings

Consumer trust in the food industry dropped by a quarter (24%)More than half of consumers said they had changed their shopping habits.Half of consumers are not confident that ingredient information is accurate.Over two thirds of people don’t think the Government has been giving enough attention to enforcing labelling laws.

Horsemeat: Confidence in food safety has taken a significant hit in the last 4 months.

Confident Not confident

Oct 2012 92% 5%

Feb 2013 72% 26%

Q. How confident are you generally in the safety of the food you buy in the supermarket

and when eating out (for example restaurants and cafes)? Base: All respondents, 2012 (2114); 2013 2064

Food bought in a supermarket

Oct 2012

Feb 2013

Food bought when eating out

Oct 2012

Feb 2013

Confident Not confident

Oct 2012 79% 16%

Feb 2013 66% 30%

Trust in the food/grocery sector

54%50%

53%53%56%

45%48%

58%

44%51% 49%

June

July

AugSep

tOct

Nov Dec Jan

Feb

Mar

chApr

il

Trust to act in your bestinterest

Consumer Tracker data

Horsemeat scandal The percentage of people who say

they trust food/ groceries sector to act in the best interest has significantly increased since February, however it is still significantly lower than it was in January - before the horsemeat scandal.

Impact on food choicesA quarter of people were buying less processed meat and a fifth less ready meals with meat as an ingredient.

Q: Has the occurrence of horse meat in food products, led you to do any of the following, or not?

Nets

• Buy less processed meat: 30%

• Buy meat from butchers/ farmers markets: 23%

• Changed where they shop for some meat: 25%

• Buy better quality/ more expensive meat: 15%

• Buy less meat: 39%

• Buy less ready meals which have meat as ingredient/ choose vegetarian meals: 24%

Meat suppliers are seen to be primarily responsible for the contamination of meat products with horse meat. However 7 in 10 think that the government hasn’t been giving enough attention to enforcing labelling laws and half say that consumers should have questioned how some meat was so cheap to buy.

Q. Who do you think is primarily responsible for the contamination of meat products with horse meat? Base: all respondents (2064). Q5. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following satements? Base: all respondents (2064)

Agree

Disagree

68% 7%

54% 19%

Use of labels

Agree Disagree

83% 3%

44%

47%

19%

50%

Horsemeat: two thirds of people are concerned about what other products may be affected in a similar way

Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following satements? Base: all respondents (2064)

Agree Disagree

67% 11%

Horsemeat – lessons and action needed

Surveillance: food fraud surveillance needs to be pro-active and better co-ordinated Intelligence-led, but also speculative testing is

needed in areas where there may be an incentive for fraud

Adequate resources to development of analytical methods

Co-ordination between local authorities, FSA and Defra

Improved sharing of information at EU level – rapid alert system for food standards as well as fraud

Must ensure that the review of the Official Controls regulation provides clarity

Horsemeat – lessons and action needed

Enforcement: food law enforcement has to be tougher and given greater priority Defra and FSA proposals to decriminalise failure to

comply with food labelling legislation need to be scrapped

Forthcoming review of EU hygiene legislation, including rules on meat inspection and wider controls on slaughterhouses needs to ensure adequate independent oversight

Tougher penalties are needed for non-compliance (and fit the financial gain from the violation as proposed in the Official Controls proposals)

Horsemeat – lessons and action needed

Regulation: legislation needs to be tightened up to ensure that there are adequate industry checks in place Traceability requirements need to be backed up

by regular food industry testing FSA needs to have powers to require testing,

disclosure of results and to enter food premises Ethical and cultural aspects of what we eat

needs to be respected eg. proposals for regulation of cloned animals/ products from clones

Horsemeat – lessons and action needed

Information: clearer information is needed for consumers about what is in food and where it comes from Country of origin labelling needs to be

extended to cover meat in meat products

Plans to scrap national rules requiring clear labelling of meat products sold loose need to be abandoned

Food standards generally need to be given greater priority

Horsemeat – lessons and action needed

Government responsibilities: food labelling and standards policy should be returned to the FSA The FSA should once again have responsibility for food labelling,

standards and nutrition as well as safety in England In the meantime, effective co-ordination between the FSA and Defra

needs to be ensured.