New research, commissioned by Compassion in World Farming, has found that consumers would like to see labels on meat and dairy products in supermarkets indicating how the animals were reared and slaughtered.

According to the survey of 2,000 people, 68% of them would welcome animal welfare labels. Currently the only animal product for which it is compulsory to have a label indicating animal welfare is eggs. All egg packaging must show whether or not the hens were kept in cages.

Another survey of 2,000 people run by the National Secular Society (NSS), found that 72% of shoppers want labels on food to reveal how animals were slaughtered.

Stephen Evans, the NSS chief executive, said: “The public overwhelmingly considers non-stun slaughter to be less ethical, and wants labelling so they can avoid meat from animals killed by such methods.

“The government should implement clear labelling to ensure consumers have this choice.”

Defra have just run a consultation for ‘Labelling for Animal Welfare: Call for Evidence’ to seek evidence on the impacts of potential animal welfare labelling.

The aim of the consultation was to give Defra an understanding of how the labelling might impact businesses, farmers, and consumers. They wanted to hear people’s views on which welfare standards could form the basis of a possible label and what the label might look like.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a consultation to gather views on precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) and the provision of precautionary allergen information on many types of food sold in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

The consultation is open to all stakeholders, from food businesses to schools, to trade bodies and consumers and covers topics including:

• The provision of precautionary allergen information to consumers
• Improving guidance and advice for businesses on how and when to use the labelling
• Ensuring compliance with regulations; and standardising risk-analysis for allergen cross-contamination.

The feedback received will assist the FSA in considering potential approaches for precautionary allergen labelling for prepacked foods and precautionary allergen information for non-prepacked foods, so that the information is:

• Communicated more clearly and consistently, in an understandable and meaningful way to consumers, in terms of the form and content of the information
• Based on a proportionate and standardised processes for assessing, managing, and communicating the risk of allergen cross-contamination by food businesses

More detailed information can be found on the Precautionary Allergen Labelling consultation page.

The consultation will be open until 14^th March 2022 and the FSA aims to publish a summary of responses within 3 months after this date.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published the Wales Key Findings Report for wave one and two of the Food and You 2 survey. The survey measures self-reported consumer knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and other food issues amongst adults in Wales, England and Northern Ireland.

The survey was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic and so It reports the reported attitudes and behaviours under unusual circumstances, which have a significant impact on how and where people buy and eat food, and on levels of household food insecurity.

The report covers topics such as food safety in the home, food shopping, eating out, food security, concerns about food, and trust in the FSA and food supply chain.

The key findings are:

• Confidence in food safety and authenticity
  • More than 9 in 10 (94%) respondents reported that they were confident that the food they buy is safe to eat.
  • Almost 9 in 10 (89%) respondents were confident that the information on food labels is accurate.
• Confidence in the food supply chain:
  • Over three quarters of respondents (79%) reported that they had confidence in the food supply chain.
  • Respondents were more likely to report confidence in farmers (92%), shops and supermarkets (89%) than in takeaways (74%), and food delivery services (57%).
• Awareness, trust and confidence in the FSA:
  • Over 9 in 10 respondents (93%) had heard of the FSA.
  • Over 8 in 10 (81%) respondents who had at least some knowledge of the FSA reported that they trusted the FSA to make sure food is safe and what it says it is
• Concerns about food
  • Respondents were asked to briefly explain what their concerns were about the food they eat. The most common concerns related to food safety and hygiene (18%), and food production methods (18%).
  • Respondents were asked to indicate if they had concerns about a number of food-related issues, from a list of given options. The most common concerns related to the amount of sugar in food (58%), food waste (57%) and animal welfare (57%).
• Food security
  • Food security levels were comparable across Wales, adjusted-England*, and Northern Ireland. Over three quarters of respondents were food secure (i.e. had high or marginal food security) in Wales (82%), adjusted -England (86%) and Northern Ireland (84%). Approximately 1 in 6 respondents were food insecure (i.e. had low or very low food security) in Wales (18%), adjusted-England (14%), and Northern Ireland (16%).
• Confidence in allergen labelling
  • Most respondents (80%) who go food shopping and take into consideration a person who has a food allergy or intolerance were confident that the information provided on food labelling allows them to identify foods that will cause a bad or unpleasant physical reaction.
  • Respondents who bought food loose were more confident in identifying these foods in-store at a supermarket (74%), when buying food from a supermarket online (69%) and when shopping at independent food shops (68%). However, respondents were less confident when buying food from food markets or stalls (54%).
• Eating out and takeaways
  • Most respondents (92%) reported that they had heard of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS). Almost two thirds (65%) of respondents reported that they had heard of the FHRS and had at least some knowledge of the FHRS.
• Food allergy, intolerance, and other hypersensitivities
  • Most respondents (86%) reported that they did not have a food hypersensitivity. Fewer than 1 in 10 (9%) respondents reported that they had a food intolerance, 3% had a food allergy, 1% had coeliac disease and 1% had multiple food hypersensitivities.

To read the full report or find out more about the survey results, please click here.