Safetrak

Project start date: 23 October 2001
Project status: Completed
Project type: Nutrition
Discipline: Market Research
Principal researcher/s: Ipsos

Research objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of our campaigns on an ongoing basis, Safefood developed Safetrak, a consumer research programme that measures public awareness of our campaigns along with any food related concerns and their impact on consumer behaviour.

Outputs

Research report

Title: Safetrak 25
Publication date: 23 March 2024
Summary: This research conducted between October 2023 and January 2024 highlighted key findings in relation to food safety concerns, healthy eating and concerns about cholesterol, challenges facing households, grocery shopping and meal planning, and the influence of social media on cooking.
Findings:
Food safety concerns
- Overall concern about food safety has reached its highest level at 76%, with ROI (54%) driving the increase.
- Chicken preparation (16%), food poisoning (12%), and additives/preservatives (10%) are the top concerns.
- Those in ROI aged 65+ are the most concerned, while those aged 35-49 feel most informed.
Healthy eating
- 82% of adults are concerned about healthy eating, the highest level recorded to date.
- Cholesterol, blood pressure, and heart disease concerns have risen to 20%, peaking at 37% among those aged 65-74.
- 79% feel well-informed about healthy eating, with 81% in ROI and 72% in NI.
Challenges facing households
- Eating out of the house has declined to 2020 levels (30%).
- 41% report eating more unhealthy food due to its availability in many places.
- 12% in ROI and 11% in NI say they cannot afford to eat healthily.
Grocery shopping and meal planning
- 36% of adults have shifted to cheaper alternatives in grocery shopping, with NI respondents reducing takeaways.
- 82% of adults plan their meals before grocery shopping, with a 5% increase in ROI.
- 42% buy food they know is unhealthy because their family will eat it.
Emerging trends
- Over 40% have bought more Irish-produced food in the last six months, and 27% claim to shop more sustainably, especially in NI.
- Social media has little influence on cooking, with only 6% saying it affects their meal choices.
Online searches for food information
- 54% have searched online for food-related information, with recipes being the most searched (76%).

Safetrak 25 [PDF]

Other outputs

Previous Safetrak research

Earlier reports are available on request. Contact [email protected]