UK Government have published United Kingdom Food Security Report report covering food safety in the supply chain. . There are five themes, including one on food safety and consumer confidence.
The data provide some insight into the safety of the UK food chain, consumer confidence and public trust in the UK food system. These insights help regulators, enforcement authorities and wider government to understand the agency of the consumer, and their ability to access and utilise food, which are important factors to consider in the UKFSR’s assessment of food security.
The overall findings are:
The results of UK consumer surveys indicate that the levels of trust in the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have remained relatively high. Of the consumers surveyed by the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, a majority report that they trust them to do their job. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, reported levels of trust in the FSA ranged from 69% to 78% between July 2020 and July 2023. In Scotland, reported levels of trust ranged from 71% to 81% between December 2020 and December 2023.
he number of people reporting concerns about food prices has risen since 2021. In 2023, food prices became the top food-related prompted concern among UK consumers. 93% of respondents surveyed in Scotland were concerned about the cost of food and 72% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Due to differences in data collection, survey results from England, Wales and Northern Ireland cannot be compared with those from Scotland.
Approximately a quarter of all incidents reported over the last 3 years involved the identification of microorganisms. Approximately 26% of all incidents reported over the last 3 years related to the identification of microorganisms that have the potential to cause illness (such as Shiga toxin-producing E.coli, Listeria and Salmonella); and required action to be taken by authorities and food businesses to protect consumers.
There have generally remained relatively stable trends in laboratory-confirmed reports of pathogens that can cause foodborne gastrointestinal disease
Campylobacter spp. continued to be the most frequently reported bacterial pathogen causing infectious gastrointestinal disease in the UK, followed by non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. The proportional trends in causative agents, hospitalisation rates and associated foods implicated in the investigations were generally consistent with trends observed in the last decade with the exception of Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC) and other diarrhoeagenic E. coli (DEC) in 2023.
Of the businesses inspected, analysis indicates an upward trend in food business hygiene compliance. An average of 92.3% of inspected businesses in Scotland achieved a ‘Pass’ under the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) between 2020/21 and 2023/24. However, there is still a backlog in the number of businesses awaiting inspection.
