After the tumultuous times of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, confidence from the UK public is returning for the quality and standards of food in the UK.
UK farmers have faced several years of significant challenges, including rising costs, severe weather events, poor harvests, and the prospect of rising taxes on the horizon. Despite this, the value farmers bring to UK food production is clear amongst consumers.
The importance of the Red Tractor logo when choosing food has risen to its highest level in the four years since the Trust in Food Index began. 58% of consumers say the Red Tractor logo is important to them when making choices on what food to buy, up from 51% in 2023.
Professor Susan Jebb, chair of the Food Standards Agency, said: “The FSA’s mission is to ensure people can trust the food they eat is safe. Maintaining high standards from farm to fork is a crucial part of that.”
The level of trust felt by shoppers in UK food is slowly approaching what it once was in 2021 (81%). 75% of UK adults now say they trust food in the UK, up from 71% in 2023.
Significantly, more people now say they trust UK food than NHS care, water from the tap, or any other core UK service or utility.
83% of adults now believe that food produced in the UK is safe [2023: 72%], 81% say it is good quality [2023: 73%], and 74% are confident that UK food is traceable through the supply chain [2023: 64%].
The findings, which draw on research from over 3,000 UK consumers, form part of Red Tractor’s annual “Trust in Food Index”. An assessment designed to show consumer attitudes to food in the UK, hoping to give Britain’s food industry a boost.
One survey respondent commented: “I think the UK and Europe have some of the strictest regulations on food and drink, from growing, transporting, storing, labelling and cooking.
“You do occasionally hear about recalls, but it’s fairly rare and only serves to show how seriously companies take food standards.”
Food assurance and inspection schemes continue to play a vital role in providing trust in UK food production and are seen as more important than the government or food industry in ensuring high standards of food safety and quality.
72% of adults said that assurance labels were a reason to trust food, and 77% said that labels showing where food comes from helps build trust.
67% of consumers say they recognise the Red Tractor logo, with only the FairTrade (78%) and British Lion (69%) kitemarks gaining wider recognition.
Jim Moseley, chief executive officer of Red Tractor, said: “The past four years have been brutal for almost everyone in the food industry – from farmers fighting to put food on our plates, through to shoppers battling against a cost-of-living crisis.
“Our 2024 findings show is that this time, UK food has come through the storm. UK shoppers are incredibly confident in the standards of food produced and sold in the UK, trusting all UK-produced food at every price point in all supermarkets.
“It should be a source of huge pride to everyone involved in food production in the UK that food is now more trusted than water or any other basic service we rely on every day.”
