Retailers urged to take greater role in food safety
the government's efforts to get the message across are falling
largely on deaf ears. Instead, food manufacturers and,
increasingly, retailers are being called on to play a greater role.
Consumers are looking increasingly to the food retail sector to take a major role in food safety after a succession of food scares. A new report from market research organisation Mintel has revealed that 44 per cent of adults in the UK are concerned about food safety, up from 41 per cent in 1997, but that many of them fail to listen to the government's guidelines on safe eating.
In fact, just 24 per cent of UK consumers pay any attention to what the authorities say about food safety, despite a sharp increase in the output of governments at both national and European level when it comes to offering advice on what to eat.
Organisations such as the Food Standards Agency have helped get the message across to more people, but much more needs to be done. "Although the FSA has had some success with providing concise, up-to-date, readily accessible information, there still exists much concern about the safety of food in general. More public education on hygienic food preparation and storage by both the FSA and FDF (the UK Food and Drink Federation) will help to alleviate concerns and reduce incidences of deterioration and cross-contamination of food that can lead to health problems," said Amanda White, consumer analyst at Mintel.
So should manufacturers or retailers be obliged to take a more active role in food safety? Mintel's report claims that just over a third of consumers are of the opinion that manufacturers should provide more information on food safety issues, just ahead of the 30 per cent who believe that retailers should also provide more of this sort of information. Importantly, however, over the past five years there has been a significant decrease in the number of consumers believing that manufacturers should provide more information on food safety and an increase in those who believe it is the retailer's responsibility.
The trend towards retailer responsibility is likely to be a reflection of the nature of products which are frequently the source of food poisoning, such as meat, ready meals, fruit and vegetables. Invariably it is difficult for the average consumer to trace the specific manufacturers of these product types, and as a consequence consumers look towards the retailer for safety.
"Retailers are generally perceived as providing a wide range of food safety information and advice, reflecting the wide span of products they sell," said Amanda White.
The retail sector is likely to view such opinions with interest. On the one hand, consumer confidence is vital for their business, and the most successful retailers are the ones which have worked hard on keeping their consumers happy and loyal. On the other, supermarkets are likely to be cautious about whether further moves to ensure food safety would make them, rather than their suppliers, responsible should customers become ill.
For its part, the UK food industry has reacted angrily to the Mintel report's claims that it has not done enough to improve safety. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which represents the industry, issued a statement in which deputy director general Martin Peterson said: "Food safety is the food and drink manufacturing industry's number one priority. The FDF, in partnership with the Food Standards Agency, environmental health organisations and others in the food chain, have organised National Food Safety Week for 10 years to promote good food hygiene practice."
"On labelling of foods, manufacturers do have to try to get across as much information as practicable, in what can sometimes be a very small space. "The industry is currently working with the FSA to improve information for consumers as part of the FSA's Food Labelling action plan. Many manufacturers give on-pack website addresses and care line numbers so consumers can contact them if they have any queries on their products," he added.
The situation is clearly better than it was just five years ago, at least as far as food safety information is concerned, but if the claim that food safety concerns continue to rise is anything to go by, then government, food manufacturers and retailers still have a long way to go to win back the confidence of the consumer.
