Fewer consumers report making healthy and sustainable food choices, reveals pan-European study
Study of 19,642 consumers across 18 European countries shows a decline in trust in food sector actors such as manufacturers, authorities, retailers and farmers
Only a third of consumers believe the food they eat is sustainable.
“The food sector has faced unprecedented challenges in recent years, and will continue to do so as climate change takes its toll on food production. Now, more than ever, we need partnership between the food sector and Europe’s citizens if we are to create a healthier and more sustainable food system for everyone. To achieve this, we need to understand and work with consumers to foster trust and engagement in embracing food innovations and making conscious choices about what to eat.”
“Consumers need to be able to trust that the food they eat is both good for them, and good for the planet. If we are to support people to make long-term changes to how they eat, we need the food sector to work with consumers to provide better information, options and access for diets that are healthy, nutritious and sustainable – while being affordable and inclusive for everyone.”
For more information, please contact: consumerobservatory-eitfood@greenhouse.agency
About the study
The EIT Food TrustTracker® is an evidence-based, peer-reviewed tool for measuring consumer trust.
The TrustTracker® maps European consumers’ trust in the food value chain across countries and over time, using validated measurement scales - including beliefs about the competency, care, and openness of its actors, and confidence in the integrity of food products (authenticity, health, safety, sustainability, and taste). In its first year, 2018, the TrustTracker® surveyed over 5,000 consumers online across 5 European countries. In 2019 this expanded to over 11,000 consumers across 13 European countries, and since 2020 we have surveyed around 20,000 consumers each year across 18 European countries: Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK. Fieldwork for this year’s study was conducted by Ipsos in August and September 2023. Participants were 19,642 European food consumers over 18 years old and nationally representative in terms of age and gender. The TrustTracker® study has been run every year since 2018. The study was conducted by a consortium of pan-European partners including Aarhus University and Future of Food Institute.
About the Consumer Observatory
Powered by EIT Food, the Consumer Observatory brings together research and consumer insights organisations from across the food system to curate and produce bespoke research, up-to-date analysis, and unique insights from across the agrifood community. It aims to maximise the impact of consumer insights on agrifood topics, delivering greater knowledge, strategy, and guidance to agrifood stakeholders, educators, policymakers, and businesses – helping to bring about change in the agrifood system that is well-informed and consumer-focussed.
Find out more about the Consumer Observatory.
About EIT Food
EIT Food is the world’s largest and most dynamic food innovation community. We accelerate innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all.
Supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, we invest in projects, organisations and individuals that share our goals for a healthy and sustainable food system. We unlock innovation potential in businesses and universities, and create and scale agrifood startups to bring new technologies and products to market. We equip entrepreneurs and professionals with the skills needed to transform the food system and put consumers at the heart of our work, helping build trust by reconnecting them to the origins of their food.
We are one of nine innovation communities established by the European Institute for Innovation & Technology (EIT), an independent EU body set up in 2008 to drive innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe.
Find out more at www.eitfood.eu or follow us via social media: X, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.