Six months on from the European horse meat scandal, many consumers remain highly sceptical about the efficiency of the food industry – with new research from Mintel revealing a distinct lack of confidence among British consumers in the food industry’s ability to provide safe food.
The exclusive research report found that 49% of UK consumers trust the food industry to provide safe food to eat, while only 42% believe the food industry is able to effectively react to food scares, and just 23% agree that the different elements of the supply chain work effectively together.
“That food should not be harmful should be one of the most basic of consumer expectations, yet only half of adults feel the UK food industry provides food that is safe to eat, signalling a widespread breakdown of trust in the agri-food chain, and suggesting the need for more active communications and greater transparency towards consumers,” said Alex Beckett, senior food analyst at Mintel.
“The fact that just 36% of consumers believe manufacturers know where their ingredients originate highlights just how long and convoluted modern food supply chains can be,” he commented. “The food industry looks set to face much work to regain consumer trust.”