Our impact case studies have historically focussed on individual or collections of research conducted using data available via the UK Data Service. In a first of its kind, Beth Armstrong introduces our latest Impact Case study which looks at the Food and You 2 dataset.
Introducing Food and You 2
Food and You 2 is an official statistic survey commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to gather insight into consumers’ food-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.
The survey recruits a nationally representative sample of adults (16+) across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Fieldwork for Food and You 2 began with Wave 1 in July 2020 and the survey has been conducted bi-annually since. The latest report, Wave 8, was carried out in collaboration with Food Standards Scotland, extending the survey to include participants from Scotland.
The survey covers a board range of food-related topics, including:
- Concerns about food
- Food insecurity
- Food shopping
- Food safety at home
- Eating out, takeaways and the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS)
- Food hypersensitivities
- Healthy eating
- Emerging issues
This modular survey rotates the topics covered each wave, with core questions being featured in each wave of fieldwork while others are featured less often. This approach ensures that the survey remains relevant and comprehensive, providing valuable insights into the evolving landscape of food safety and behaviours.
The impact of Food and You 2
The impact of Food and You 2 is demonstrated across several areas.
Food and You 2 enables the FSA to monitor progress towards its strategic outcomes, to inform FSA communication campaigns, as an evidence-base for policy decision-making, risk and impact assessments, and inform future research within the FSA.
Insights from the survey have led to developments in the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, making it more transparent and accessible to consumers such as the requirement for food hygiene ratings to be displayed in restaurants and takeaways.
The findings have informed targeted food safety campaigns aimed at reducing foodborne illnesses and increasing safe food handling practices at home.
The data has been widely used in a range of government publications including DEFRAs UK Food Security Report, Food Security Index 2024, and Food Statistics in your pocket. The data recently been used for a series of secondary analysis to gain insight into a range of food-related practices (e.g., Armstrong, Smith & Garratt, 2024; Garratt & Armstrong, 2024).
The value of data in the UK Data Service collection
Food and You 2 is a fantastic dataset which spans a wide range of food-related topics, from food safety practices in the home to food insecurity. Below we provide an overview of two secondary analysis projects which have used Food and You 2 data.
Food and You 2: secondary analysis highlights
This study pooled data from several waves Food and You 2 (2021-2023) to identify who experiences food insecurity of differing severity, who uses food banks, and the associated been experience of food insecurity and food bank use. It was identified that food insecurity rose from 17·6 % (2021–2022) to 24·6 % (2022–2023).
The analyses revealed three key findings:
- that food insecurity is concentrated in economically disadvantaged groups, being more prevalent in lower-income households, among respondents who were unemployed or had a long-term health condition, ethnic minority groups, younger adults, those living in Wales, and in households containing children, especially lone-parent households
- that food security status was the strongest predictor of food bank use, with food bank use being more prevalent among lower-income groups, those who were unemployed or unable to work due to ill health
- the prevalence of food insecurity far exceeds food bank use, through both food insecurity and food bank use were more prevalent at lower incomes and among unemployed and younger adults.
This research made an important contribution to the discussions about UK food security by providing further robust evidence identifying which groups were more likely to be food insecure but were not necessarily more likely to use food banks.
Risk it for a biscuit: Food safety behaviours and food insecurity of older adults.
Data from Food and You 2: Wave 6 were used to explore the food safety behaviours of older adults, specifically, whether certain characteristics are associated with risky behaviours, the association between food insecurity and risky behaviours, and the knowledge-behaviour gap.
Three key findings were identified:
- that the characteristics associated with risky food-related practices are not uniform, with different characteristics being associated with different practices
- that food security status is associated with a range of food-related practices
- knowledge of use-by dates is the factor most associated with use-by date adherence
This research made an important contribution to the limited evidence which investigates the food safety behaviours of older adults and demonstrates to policy makers that as different characteristics are associated with specific food-related practices, risky practices cannot be efficiently targeted with a one size fits all approach.
You can read more about Food and You 2, including the highlights from the latest wave, further insight into the research methodology and further impact this research has had in the accompanying case study.
Get hands on with the data
If you want to get hands-on with the Food and You 2 data, join us for the H3 X Food & You 2: Data Hack-a-thon and Visualization Event.
Whether you’re a data enthusiast, a visualization wizard, or someone passionate about food join us to uncover insights and create impactful visualizations that can help address some questions about people’s food-related knowledge, attitudes about behaviours.
It is free and open to the public!
Dates & locations:
- 13th March, 15:00-18:00 @ University of Sheffield
- 20th March, 17:00-20:00 @ City St George’s, University of London
Read the Food and You 2 impact case study.
About the author
Dr Beth Armstrong is an early career research based at University of Sheffield.
Beth is currently working with the Food Standards Agency as the Food and You 2 Research Fellow, exploring people’s knowledge, attitudes and behaviours relating to food safety, food security, and other food-related behaviours. Her previous research focused on a range of food-related topics including the impact of advertising on food choice, the role of ethical information on food perceptions and experience, food waste, and inequalities in access to healthy and sustainable diets.