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- Trends in food production concerns
- Animal living conditions
- Additives used in food
- Hygiene
- Food Scares
Over the years we have asked shoppers to identify their concerns surrounding food production.
IGD's Shopper Trends 2010 report revealed the top concerns for shoppers regarding food production:
Food production concerns
Base: All main shoppers. 21% None of these, 2% Don't Know.
Source: IGD Shopper Trends 2010 report
The most pressing production concerns for shoppers are:
- Animal welfare – over four in ten (43%) shoppers are concerned about animal living conditions. This has risen from 30% in 2006
- What goes into food – concern here is mainly focussed on the use of additives (37%) as well as animal feed (32%)
- Hygiene – this concern is directed mainly at the factories, which is the most prevalent single concern that shoppers have (26% of first mentions), but also at farms (24% of all mentions)
Trends in food production concerns
However, there is a downward trend in the number of shoppers concerned overall about how the food they buy has been produced. In 2010, 21% of shoppers had no concerns and claimed to be happy with how the food they buy has been produced compared to just 15% in 2006.
Animal living conditions
One of the areas of growing concern is for ‘animal living conditions’. The recent media attention surrounding poor animal welfare and diseases such as bird flu, has certainly had an effect on raising shoppers' awareness.
A greater perception of these issues has in turn driven the growth of ethical consumerism, as shoppers opt for free range and higher welfare products as part of a conscious choice to improve standards of welfare in food producing animals.
Additives used in food
In certain categories, products containing additives are becoming increasingly conspicuous. To avoid becoming isolated in the marketplace, manufacturers must continue to review their product formulations, packaging and manufacturing methods in order to remove additives where possible. Concern about additives used in food was mentioned by 31% of respondents in 2006. Concern decreased to 28% in 2008 but has risen again to reach a high of 37% in 2010. This increase may be driven by greater awareness as manufacturers reformulate to provide products with less additives. This concern also appears to be transferring into behaviour as greater numbers mention ‘no artificial colours or flavours’ as a driver of product choice (up from 7% in 2008 to 13% in 2010).
Food production concerns - welfare and health
Base: all main shoppers. Source: IGD Shopper Trends 2010 report
Hygiene
While remaining high, hygiene concerns have dropped somewhat over the last year, following previous increases.
- Concern for hygiene in factories has decreased by eight percentage points to 39% in our latest survey. This has returned to the same percentage as in 2006 but reached a high of 47% in 2009
- Concern for hygiene on the farm has decreased by 11 percentage points in the latest year to 24%, its lowest level in five years
Factory hygiene each year tops the list of shopper concerns in our research, although most shoppers admit to knowing very little about the factory process. Shopper concerns about food production seem to be focussed on those areas where visibility is at its weakest.
Food production concerns - food safety
* List of examples changed in 2008 to include bird flu and foot and mouth as well as BSE.
Base: all main shoppers. Source: IGD Shopper Trends 2010 report
Food Scares
Concern about food scares has diminished over time. When IGD’s tracking survey started, respondents were asked about BSE. Concern fell from 24% in 2003 to 14% in 2006. Although BSE has become less of a worry, outbreaks of other diseases and subsequent media coverage means there are still concerns about food scares.
Our recent surveys have asked about food scares generally rather than any specific scare and examples used include Bird Flu and Foot and Mouth. Results show a decline in concern as 18% of respondents mentioned this in 2010 compared with 24% in 2008.
This change in direction may be due to the combination of two aspects:
- Growing support for British farmers - in general, there is an assumption among shoppers that food production standards are higher and more consistent among British farmers than their international counterparts
- The absence of any high profile food scares in recent years - the high profile scares of bird flu, foot & mouth and BSE are now becoming more distant memories for some
These results may also reflect a growing confidence among shoppers that the food chain has responded well and improved standards accordingly.
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