UK shoppers “more concerned about sugar than the cost of food,” reveals FSA

10 Sep 2018 --- The amount of sugar in foods is now the top concern of consumers, replacing price, according to new research from the Food Standards Agency (FSA). In the FSA’s biannual report on public attitudes to food-related issues, 55 percent of respondents said they were concerned about the amount of sugar in food.

Younger people were less worried about sugar content than older respondents (29 percent of 16-25-year-olds compared to 54 percent-64 percent in all other age groups) and sugar content was more of a concern amongst more affluent shoppers – those in social grades AB (68 percent) and C1 (57 percent) compared to those in social grades C2 (47 percent) and DE (49 percent).

Food issues of concern
Sugar replaced food price as the top concern from Waves 1-10 (November 2010 – May 2015). Concern about sugar has risen more than any other concern in this survey, from 39 percent at Wave 1 to 55 percent at Wave 16 (+16 percent). This is the highest concern has been since Wave 12 (May 2016) which was also at 55 percent.

Food price was the top issue of concern from Waves 1-10, usually at around 50 percent-60 percent. Concern started to decline after Wave 7 and has declined more than any other issue from Waves 1-13 (-11 percent). However, at Wave 14 concern about food prices increased 4 percent from Wave 13 to 46 percent, staying consistent at Wave 15, but decreasing slightly at Wave 16 (-3 percent). 

Other than sugar and food price, the most significant changes in concerns at Wave 16 relate to food waste (+9 percent), from 42 percent at Wave 1 to 51 percent at Wave 16; foods aimed at children (+7 percent), from 22 percent at Wave 1 to 29 percent at Wave 16 (although, concern has tended to stay around 26 percent-27 percent for most waves); hormones/steroids/antibiotics in food (+6 percent), from 20 percent at Wave 1 to 26 percent at Wave 16. 

At Wave 16, 55 percent of respondents reported concern about the amount of sugar in food.

Concern varied between groups of people, particularly:
• Those aged 16-25 (29 percent) compared to all other age groups (54 percent-64 percent).
• Those in social grades AB (68 percent) and C1 (57 percent) compared to those in social grades C2 (47 percent) and DE (49 percent).

Although the trend fluctuates, there has been an overall increase in the proportion of respondents reporting concern about sugar in food throughout previous waves (39 percent-55 percent). 

Food waste (an issue for 51 percent of respondents) and animal welfare (42 percent) were also top concerns of those surveyed.

The survey also showed a rise in concern over foods aimed at children, including school meals. 29 percent of respondents highlighted this as a concern – up from 22 percent when the question was initially asked in a November 2010 survey.

The top food safety issues of concern for respondents were:

Food hygiene when eating out (33 percent)
Chemicals from the environment, such as lead, in food (30 percent)
Food additives (29 percent)
Food poisoning (28 percent)
The top wider food issues of concern were:

The amount of sugar in food (55 percent)
Food waste (51 percent)
Food prices (43 percent)
Animal welfare (42 percent)

The survey was of a representative sample of 2,004 adults in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which took place in May 2018.