British concerned about salt, fat
and sugar intake
March 16, 2005
People in the UK are increasingly concerned about their
diet and health, according to the Agency's fifth Consumer
Attitudes Survey published today.
Salt levels are the top food concern, with fat and
sugar also appearing in the list of top five.
More people than ever before are checking food labels
to find out how much salt, fat and sugar is in the food.
Over the past five years, among people who check labels,
the number of people who say they look for nutritional
details has risen to 75% in 2004, from just over half
in 2000.
Gill Fine, Director of Consumer Choice and Dietary
Health at the Food Standards Agency said:
‘Over the last five years the trend among consumers
has been towards healthier eating and an increase in
demand for reliable and practical information on all
aspects of nutrition, food and health. People are more
worried about levels of salt, fat and sugar in food
and the accuracy of food labels, and less concerned
about issues like BSE.
‘To meet the growing demand for information about
nutrition and healthy eating, the Food Standards Agency
has launched a new website - www.food.gov.uk/eatwell
- dedicated to providing reliable and practical advice
on all aspects of food, diet and health, as well as
helpful tips on topics such as understanding food labels.'
The level of concern about BSE has fallen by almost
a quarter since 2000.
Other five year trends include:
-- the number of people claiming to have eaten five
portions of fruit and vegetables the previous day has
risen from just over a quarter in 2000 to half of all
consumers in 2004
-- knowledge of the '5 a day' message of eating fruit
and vegetables has increased from 43% in 2000, to 58%
in 2004
-- concern about the safety of raw beef has fallen
dramatically, from over half of all consumers in 2000,
to just over a third in 2004
-- concern about the accuracy of food labelling has
risen from 35% in 2000 to 44% in 2004
Source:www.medicalnewstoday.com
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