New research from YouGov commissioned by Red Tractor has revealed a significant drop in consumer trust across almost all British institutions, with food and energy seeing the biggest deterioration since 2021.
The research, conducted with over 3,500 adults across the UK, found that trust in food has declined by 8% overall, and this increases to 13% for those in skilled, manual employment.
The swings in trust come as shoppers are forced to change their buying habits because of the cost-of-living crisis. Almost half (46%) of people say they are changing what they buy to feed their families. 30% of consumers are buying less meat, this increases to 35% for those from lower income households. Almost a quarter of shoppers (24%) say they are trading down, buying what they perceive to be food produced to lower food safety and animal welfare standards, which increases to 29% for people on lower incomes.
Last year, 78% of people said they trusted the safety and quality of food purchased from supermarkets. This year, only 58% said they trust supermarkets. The striking change in trust suggests that as people switch and trade down to value ranges, the standards for these ranges are assumed to be weaker. However, when it comes to food and farming, the UK is one of the most regulated countries in the world. The strict regulations on food safety, animal welfare or environmental protection apply to value lines which use assured British produce.
More than half (55%) of shoppers who trust UK food said the UK’s system of high standards and regulation was their number one reason for doing so. Assurance schemes and labelling also play a major role in confidence. Seven out of ten (69%) people look to food marques and assurance schemes to ensure food is safe and produced to a high quality, with British Lion, Red Tractor and Fair Trade the most recognised among consumers. Of those marques, only British Lion and Red Tractor ensure that produce is British.
Christine Tacon, chair, Red Tractor, said: “As an industry we must work together to reassure people that whatever their price range, they can be confident in the standards and safety of food produced in the UK- people should never have to choose between price and food safety”.