UK consumers worry less about food safety than Europe

16-May-2017 - Last updated on 17-May-2017 at 16:02 GMT

Food safety is less of a concern to UK consumers than consumers in Europe

Consumers in the UK worry less about food safety than the rest of Europe, according to a new report on glass packaging for food and drink.

Research by pressure group Friends of Glass and FEVE – the European Container Glass Federation – found 41% of UK consumers worried about food safety often last year, compared with the average of 58% across the continent.

However, the number of consumers who worried about food safety in the UK had risen from 36% in 2014.

The report also found that the main food safety worry in the UK was the risk of chemicals and microorganisms leaching into food from packaging, according to 60% of respondents.

More than half of UK consumers

More than half of UK consumers (54%) said that they preferred glass packaging because it could be recycled more, while 64% saw glass as the most environmentally friendly packaging material.

Nick Kirk, technical director at glass manufacturing trade body British Glass said: “The research gives us good insight into UK consumers’ thoughts about glass packaging. We were pleased to find that many people are aware of the environmental reasons for buying and using glass.

“Glass packaging is non-porous and doesn’t need an additional chemical layer to protect the food or drink. Put simply, glass packaging won’t interact with its contents: no leeching, no tainting. In fact, glass is an ideal choice when you need to protect natural goodness, appearance and flavour.”

The Europe-wide survey measured the evolution of consumers’ perception and use of glass packaging since 2014.

2,519 of responses from the UK

A sample of 17,377 people were surveyed, with 2,519 of responses from the UK – 2,019 aged 25 to 65 years and 500 aged 16 to 24 years.

Of the countries surveyed, Spain worried the most about food safety (83% of respondents) while Germany worried the least (32% of respondents).

Meanwhile, places are still available for this year’s food safety conference, hosted by the Food Manufacture Group, titled Food Safety 2020: preparing your business for change.

The one-day conference will take place at Woodland Grange, Leamington Spa on Thursday June 22. Read the full programme here.