Consumer surveys

Here are some important consumer surveys

Food ranked as highest concern for consumers in CFA survey (June 2013)

Food was the highest ranked area of concern overall in a recent Consumers Federation of Australia survey of 591 people.

"Food labelling reform" received the second highest number of respondents overall in response to the question about support for current consumer campaigns:

• 75% of respondents identified misleading information about food production as a 'very important' issue.
• 74% of respondents identified misleading claims about health benefits of food as a 'very important' issue.

Each of the five individual food issues nominated in the survey (misleading claims about health benefits, simple and reliable nutrition labelling, unit pricing, misleading production information, lack of competition between the major retailers) were ranked important or very important by 92% or more of the respondents.

- See more at: http://consumersfederation.org.au/consumers-rate-food-energy-and-security-online-as-biggest-concerns-in-cfa-survey/#sthash.11MsiqPh.dpuf

Survey respondents were not a random sample and diverge from the Australian population in important ways, with older people and those already engaged with consumer issues more likely to respond.

Coles Supermarket consumer survey (April 2012)

Coles Supermarkets in Australia: "As part of our commitment to quality products that cost less, we are continually looking for ways to improve our products and offer you greater value on the products you love. Our commitment to remove artificial colours and added MSG from our products is in line with customer research showing Australians have concerns regarding food additives:

• 91% of Australians are worried about consuming products with artificial colours and added MSG

• 76% of Australians avoid consuming products with artificial colours and added MSG

• 1 in 3 believe that their children have had a reaction to artificial colours

http://blog.coles.com.au/tag/no-added-msg/ 16 April 2012

The Real Food Trend (December 2008) (0.5Mb)

A recent survey of over 100,000 consumers by Meat & Livestock Australia (The Real Food Trend, MLA December 2008) shows clearly that our consumer concerns are not the minority view regulators would have us believe. Look at what people are actually doing:

Derived from The Real Food Trend, a consumer survey conducted in 2007/2008 by Roy Morgan/ Julie Dang on behalf of

Meat and Livestock Australia, by permission. ISBN 9781741912869.

These results match those from UK surveys and show a strong developing sense of personal responsibility for health and what we eat.

Other conclusions

• A typical meal is now freshly prepared and shared with the whole family (2 out of 3 families sit down to a traditional cooked evening meal prepared from scratch, 76% with three or more vegetables).
• Despite our busy daily schedules 82% of us are choosing to find the time and energy to cook from scratch.
• We prefer to cook with fresh foods and are increasingly avoiding products with additives, instead searching for the freshest possible. 52% seek to buy additive-free food.
• The vast majority of Australian households are dealing with some kind of health issue and this affects the way we shop, cook and eat.

FSANZ Consumer Attitudes Survey (January 2008) (1.6Mb)

A study of overall confidence in the food supply based on responses from 1,200 Australian and 800 New Zealand consumers. The model used to measure overall confidence in the food system only accounted for 39% of the variability, meaning that the survey did not touch on 61% of the reasons for concern. The MLA study above would provide a good guide to a more significant survey of concerns and confidence.

This study showed that many Australians had food concerns in their households, such as 30% with asthma, 20% with migraines, 19% with digestive concerns (coeliac disease, irritable bowel syndrome) and 18% with allergy (seafood, fish, milk, gluten, eggs, or soybeans). But our regulators then carefully avoided asking questions that might challenge the food industry.

Of the more than 50% of Australians who expressed concern about food, food poisoning was equal highest at 48%, but other key issues were:

• storage times of foods sold as ‘fresh’ 48%
• the use of additives (such as preservatives and colouring) in food products 37% (this is the highest issue in the UK), and
• food allergies and intolerance 18%.

61% of Australians lacked confidence in organisations providing regulation and monitoring of the food supply. 26% of people did not trust the information on labels, although 48% did. In a list of 17 major concerns, healthy eating was the third most important issue (25% of consumers) after water issues (61%) and household finances (33%), consistent with European results.

Failsafe Newsletter #57 (July-September 2008)

During a Food Intolerance Network speaking tour in May-June 2008, attended by more than 3,000 people, about 1,000 attendees were surveyed and 648 responses obtained.

The result is that 96% believe that food additives should be better tested before they are approved, the focus being on including evidence of behavioural, learning and other health effects before approval.

A second survey question with 634 responses showed that about two-thirds of consumers (67%) had no idea that sulphites and asthma were related, and only about 27% of those surveyed understood the connection.

Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you find other consumer surveys likely to be of interest to food intolerant people.