British shoppers are regaining faith in the quality and standards of UK food, but confidence is still below 2021 levels, latest research from Red Tractor has revealed.
As many as 75% of UK adults now say they trust food in the UK, halting a three-year decline, according to the survey of 3,563 UK adults.
Confidence levels rose from 71% in 2023, but were still down from 81% in 2021.
However, that figure leapt to 91% when consumers were asked whether they trusted food exclusively produced within the UK, the food and farm assurance scheme’s fourth annual Trust In Food Index showed.
Shoppers were also found to put more trust in UK food than NHS care – confidence levels in the health service dropped from 81% in 2021 to 70% today – while trust in water supplies fell from 81% to 73% over the same period.
Yet, rising confidence across all aspects of UK food production and assurance was recorded by the poll, despite mounting concerns in recent years over issues such as animal welfare, pollution from food production and a number of food safety scandals.
Red Tractor has also been in the spotlight over its plan – abandoned last spring – to launch a new, retailer-backed module called the Greener Farms Commitment, which enraged farmers and ultimately led to two separate reviews into farm assurance, the second of which is due to report its findings later this month.
As many as 83% of adults in its Trust In Food Index believed food produced in the UK was safe, up from 72% in 2023, while 81% rated UK food as good quality compared with 73% the previous year.
In addition, 74% were confident that UK food was traceable through the supply chain – a 10% uplift on the 64% who thought this in 2023.
“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,” said Red Tractor CEO Jim Moseley.
“Not since the foot and mouth crisis over 20 years ago has the UK food industry had so much to contend with. UK farmers have been at the forefront of this struggle, who have faced tougher weather, regulation and input costs to doing business.”
Moseley credited farmers’ continued efforts to work to “some of the highest standards in the world”, which he claimed had “played a significant role in driving a resurgence of consumer trust in UK food”.
“In the past, after periods of pressure like this, we’ve seen trust in food fall as people have had to trade down to cheaper items or supermarkets,” Moseley continued.
“What 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. Third-party assurance schemes and logos like the Red Tractor have proved crucial in driving this resurgence, showing shoppers a product has undergone rigorous checks before reaching the shelf.”
The findings come a month after a YouGov poll found that 39% of British adults do not trust major food brands and supermarkets to tell the truth about where food comes from or the farms that produce it.
The survey of 2,260 UK adults in November also found that more than half (53%) did not trust major food brands and supermarkets to tell the truth about how sustainable specific foods are.
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