The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has reported that the newest Food and You 2 survey, which was conducted between October 2022 and January 2023, found that 25% of respondents reported some level of food insecurity.

The FSA defines food security as being when “all consumers always have access to enough food for a healthy and active lifestyle”, and this was measured by a series of questions asked regarding the respondents’ ability to afford food over the last 12 months.

The survey also asked what changes respondents had made to their eating habits, as well as the reasoning behind these changes. It was conducted in the format of either an online or a posted questionnaire, and answers were self-reported by respondents.

In the first wave of the survey, conducted between July and October 2020, food insecurity levels were initially estimated at 16%. This means that since 2020, the amount of people in the survey who have limited or uncertain access to adequate food has increased by 9%.

The survey questioned what changes people had made to their eating habits for financial reasons, and 80% of the respondents said that in the last 12 months they had made changes to their diet to some extent for financial reasons.

The most common changes were:

• Eating out less (46%)
• Buying items on special offer more often (42%)
• Preparing food that could be kept as leftovers (29%)

Some of the top concerns for people were:

• Food prices (65%)
• Food waste (62%)
• Quality of food (62%)
• Amount of packaging (56%)

A total of 5,991 people aged 16 or over completed the newest wave of the Food and You 2 survey. Some of the key findings in the report include:

• 75% of respondents across England, Wales and Northern Ireland were classified as food secure while 25% were classified as food insecure
• Of the respondents who had some knowledge of the FSA, 78% said that they trusted the FSA to make sure “food is safe and what it says it is”
• 93% of respondents were confident that the food they buy is safe to eat
• 76% of respondents reported that they had confidence in the food supply chain
• 64% reported that they always check use-by dates before they cook or prepare food.

FSA to share “concerning” findings with Governments

Emily Miles, chief executive at the FSA, said: “The latest data has shown increasing levels of food insecurity and a high level of concern about rising food prices. Consumers are continuing to make changes to their dining and grocery shopping habits in light of these concerns.

“The experiences that people are reporting to us are concerning and show the increasing struggle many people are facing with the cost-of-living.

“We will share these latest insights with the Governments we serve in Wales, Northern Ireland and Westminster, so they can use them to inform their policy making. Collecting evidence about people’s experiences of food is part of the FSA’s role to protect public health and consumers’ interests in relation to food.”