Over a quarter of UK consumers don’t trust organic label

A survey in the UK has found that more than a quarter of shoppers say they are “not confident at all” that food labelled as organic has been produced under organic farming methods. As wickedleeks.riverford reports, while shoppers have more ethical considerations when shopping, there is a “deep suspicion” over the labelling of ethical products. The poll was carried out online with 1,000 shoppers by Lloyd’s Register. According to the results, 26.9% of respondents reported being “not confident at all” that the organic label was accurate, while 61% said they were “fairly confident” and 11.8 per cent said they were “very confident”. Similarly, 20% of UK consumers said they were “not confident at all” or “very suspicious” about claims that vegan products do not contain meat.

According to the Food Trends report,

“There is a deep suspicion on the part of shoppers regarding ethical food products. In an industry built on trust, this signals that this trust is under threat. This will mean that certification bodies will need to increase their efforts to educate consumers on the role of certification and what the logo represents.”

The report also found the country in which the food is grown to be important for consumers, with 63% saying they check the source country of their food products. A third of respondents also reported being more concerned than they were a year ago about food safety concerns related to outbreaks of listeria or other food borne illnesses.