Around 21% of people in Scotland have purchased food via social media, with Facebook Marketplace identified as the most popular, research from Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has found.
Food sales via social media platforms is an increasing trend, but little is known about what types of food are being sold or around the scale and proportion of food sold this way.
Following concerns expressed by Local Authorities over the increase in food volumes sold over social media, the FSS had Taylor McKenzie conduct research around ready-to-eat (RTE) sold on such platforms.
The focus was on Facebook Marketplace which was pinpointed as the most popular channel. While Instagram was also found to be a trending platform for food purchases, the FSS said the lack of a dedicated sales point made it too complicated to assess.
Moreover, RTE food was focused on as it potentially poses a greater threat, given it is eaten uncooked. However, the FSS acknowledges that food intended to be cooked is also available on social media – for example, the 2012 food alert for action linked to meat being sold via Facebook through an unregistered and unapproved Wiltshire based vendor.
The new report found that bakery and confectionery items accounted for nearly two-thirds of RTE foods sold on Facebook Marketplace. While adverts for composite products made up around one-fifth of listings. These included things like afternoon teas or buffets, and often relied on communication between the buyer and seller to select the items that would be received.
High risk products such as sushi and cured meats only represented 1.2% of listings. However, the FSS has said the presence of the latter underscores the need to ensure that sellers understand how to produce food safely.
The research also found that many adverts did not include information such as an ingredient or allergen list.
The FSS said it was ‘surprised’ by the lack of information and the ‘complexity’ of Facebook Marketplace adverts. It stated that it was often difficult to tell from these adverts whether components of the offering were shop-bought (and therefore made under a food safety management system), or homemade (where the individual producing the food is responsible for ensuring food is safe).
“Social media platforms are transforming how people buy food and this research has provided a baseline to help us to understand the variety and scale of this method of selling in Scotland. This convenience, however, might come with risks and it is essential that both buyers and sellers understand the nature of these types of foods so they can make informed choices,” explained Dr Karen Pearson, senior scientific advisor at FSS.
Sellers may not have the knowledge to produce safe food, particularly if they are producing higher risk foods.
Dr Karen Pearson, senior scientific advisor, Food Standards Scotland
The report also looked at whether the emerging trend of fermented foods was proving to be popular via this platform, specifically looking at sales of kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut.
No adverts were found for sauerkraut, one was found for kimchi (which appeared to be re-selling of an imported product) and 7 for kefir grains (1.2% of foods using the FCT system). This suggests that these foods are not widely available on Facebook Marketplace in Scotland.
Participants indicated a range of motivations for buying food over social media with the main reasons being supporting a local business (48%) and convenience (42%).
These findings build on the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) 2022 Achieving Business Compliance research, which flagged a lack of standardisation and a risk from unregistered businesses, whilst stating that the level of understanding around this risk in its infancy.
Following its own study, the FSS has said that although information for those selling food on social media exists, there is likely to be a gap for those selling in low volumes who do not consider themselves a business.
