Comparative Surveys in Six European Countries Consumer Trust in Food 2002 - 2004 Contract No QLK1-CT-2001-00291 2

The aim of the surveys has been to study variations of trust in food across Europe, using several different measures. We wanted to know how these assessments are related to everyday eating and shopping, people’s priorities r egarding food issues and consumer mobilisation as citizens. These first analyses focus on various assessments of trust in food including • trust in different food items • trust in different actors within the food system • the evaluation of changes for food issues such as safety, nutrition, quality, and value for money. About the Surveys Representative surveys were conducted in November 2002 with Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) in Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, and Portugal. Quota samples 1000 people in Norway, Denmark and Portugal each 1500 in Great Britain 2000 in Germany and Italy each

Consumers have more trust in vegetables and fruits than meat products when it comes to safety, irrespec- tive of where they live. Foods like burgers from fast food outlets, sausages, and restaurant meals, are only trusted by relatively small proportions of consumers. Processed food such as burgers and canned tomatoes tend to be less trusted than fresh, unprocessed foods such as fresh tomatoes and beef. However, the total levels of trust (Index of 12 foods) vary markedly. According to this measure, the most trusting consumers are the British, followed by the Danes and the Norwegians. Germany and Italy are the lowest trust regions for this issue. Portuguese consumers have low trust in meat but high trust in vegetables such as tomatoes. Trust in Food Items “Do you think that the following types of food are very safe, rather safe or not very safe to eat?” Eggs, chicken, pork, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, beef, organic beef, sausages (for dinner), burgers from a fast-food outlet, low fat products, and restaurant meals. Proportions saying that the following foods are “very safe” to eat (%) Burgers Beef Can.tom Tomato Index 12 foods E.Germ W.Germ Italy Portugal Norway Denmark GB Accummulated percentages

If a food scandal occurs, consumer organisations, food experts and governmental bodies are most often trusted to tell the truth. Low proportions of respondents believe that market actors such as farmers, supermarket chains, or the food processing industry, are truth-tellers in such circumstances. The rank order from most to least trusted is practically identical in all national settings. The results indicate that if there is a scandal, a third party — whether in the capacity of expert, guardian of consumer interests, or governmental representative — is more trusted. Trust in Food Actors “Imagining that there is a food scandal concerning chicken pro- duction in your country. Do you think that the following persons or institutions would tell you the whole truth, parts of the truth, or would hold information back?” Optimism - Pessimism Typically between       and of consumers consider that several aspects of food have deteriorated including price, taste and quality, farming methods, nutrition and safety. Italian and Portuguese consumers display the highest levels of pes- simism: 60 – 80 % say that prices and taste/quality have worsened over the past twenty years. Fewer respondents think that food has become worse with regard to safety and nutrition. In all countries, pessimism is negatively associat- ed with trust in food items. “As a general impression, do you think the food today has improved, is more or less the same, or has become worse, compa- red to twenty years ago regarding …?” Proportions saying that the following actors would tell the whole truth (%) Consumer Organisations Food Experts Food Authorities Media Farmers Supermarket Chains Politicians Processing Industry 71 56 41 44 14 16 11 6 73 65 47 52 19 10 14 6 63 53 29 27 9 4 3 1 62 53 30 20 9 4 2 1 45 44 36 24 25 17 8 10 62 45 31 26 9 10 4 7 66 49 26 39 10 6 4 8 62 51 34 32 14 10 7 6 Denmark Norway W.Germ E.Germ GB Italy Portugal Mean Proportions saying that food has deteriorated (%) Prices Taste/quality Farming methods Nutrition Safety GB Denmark Norway W.Germ E.Germ Italy Portugal 1 3 / 1 4 / Accummulated percentages

Consumer Trust in Food. A European Study of the Social and Institutional Conditions for the Production of Trust (2002 - 2004) The overall aim of the study is to investigate the social and institutional conditions for the production and main- tenance of consumer trust in food. The study seeks to identify and analyse fac- tors that shape trust in the food supply and in information sources. These fac- tors include the roles of public authori- ties, consumer organisations, market actors, consumers, NGOs, and the mass media. The analysis will integrate data from (1) a representative survey about how consumers handle challenges of trust and distrust in the routines of every- day life, and (2) qualitative enquiries (documentary analyses, key informant interviews) at various institutional lev- els (regional, national, EU) about the conditions for trust. A special focus on beef and tomatoes will more fully illu- minate the relations between consumer trust and collective actors and institu- tions in the food system. The project will provide a critical analy- sis of alternative strategies for handling trust and distrust under varying condi- tions throughout Europe. The project expects to achieve a policy relevant appreciation of the role of citi- zens and consumer organisations in articulating the interests of consumers within the context of European food markets and food policy systems. The concept of trust Surveys in six countries Comparative analyses Institutional studies - countries, EU Strategies for trust Dissemination to stakeholders and the general public The structure of the study

Unni Kjaernes (Coordinator) The National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO) PO Box 4682, Nydalen N - 0405 Oslo - Norway Email: unni.kjarnes@sifo.no Roberta Sassatelli Dipartimento di Discipline della Comunicazione Università di Bologna - Via Azzo Gardino, 23 I - 40122 Bologna - Italy Email: r.sassatelli@uea.ac.uk Lotte Holm Royal Veterinary- and Agricultural University (KVL) Research Department of Human Nutrition (FHE) Rolighedsvej 30 DK - 1958 Frederiksberg C-Denmark Email: lotte.holm@fhe.kvl.dk Bente Halkier Roskilde University Centre Dept. of Communication, Journalism and Computer Science P.O. Box 260 DK - 4000 Roskilde Email: bha@ruc.dk Alan Warde, Mark Harvey ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition CRIC, University of Manchester/UMIST Harold Hankins Building - Booth Street West Precinct Centre UK - Manchester M13 9QH Email: Alan.Warde@man.ac.uk; Mark.Harvey@man.ac.uk Pedro Graça The University of Porto Faculty of Nutrition (FCNAUP) Rua Dr. Roberto Frias P - 4200-465 Porto - Portugal Email: pedrograca@fcna.up.pt Corinna Willhöft Federal Research Centre for Nutrition and Food (BFEL) Institute of Nutritional Economics and Sociology Haid-und-Neu-Strasse 9 D - 76131 Karlsruhe - Germany Email: corinna.willhoeft@bfe.uni-karlsruhe.de Responsible partners Further information Christian Poppe and Unni Kjærnes (2003). Trust in Food in Europe. A Comparative Analysis. Professional Report n° 11-2003. National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO). You are invited to visit the study’s website http://www.trustinfood.org and/or contact the Coordinator or other Partners directly. Dr. Achim Boenke · Scientific Officer European Commission, DG Research; Directorate E - Biotechnology, Agriculture and Food; Unit E.2 - Food Quality Official address: European Commission, B-1049 Brussels Tel: (+32-2)-2 96 07 56 (direct line), (+32-2)-2 99 11 11 (exchange) Fax:(+32-2)-2 96 43 22 Email: Achim.Boenke@cec.eu.int Internet:http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/ research/index_en.html This research project is supported by the European Commission , Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources Programme (QoL), Key Action 1 (KA1) on Food, Nutrition and Health.