Eight in 10 shoppers think retailers should make it easier to identify British goods in stores.
A poll of 2,000 adults found 59 per cent would prefer to buy produce that is grown, made, or harvested in Britain, with eggs, milk, potatoes, and fish among the items they are most inclined to seek out.
While competitive pricing (57 per cent), supporting British businesses (51 per cent), and food safety standards (47 per cent) are the top factors that influence shoppers to buy from local suppliers.
But there is a feeling among the public that both the government (76 per cent) and supermarkets (77 per cent) need to do more to support British fishermen and food producers.
With 48 per cent of shoppers stating they check labels on food they pick up.
The research was commissioned by Discover Seafood, an initiative run by The Fishmongers’ Company, which is urging supermarkets to stock more British species to meet consumer demand for local produce and support fishermen from these shores.
Spokesperson Gavin O’Donnell said: “There is lots of great local produce available to consumers but knowing where to find it can be a struggle.
“It’s clear demand is there for food grown, caught and harvested in the UK so where is the support from retailers?
A poll of 2,000 adults found 59 per cent would prefer to buy produce that is grown, made, or harvested in Britain, with eggs, milk, potatoes, and fish among the items they are most inclined to seek out.
While competitive pricing (57 per cent), supporting British businesses (51 per cent), and food safety standards (47 per cent) are the top factors that influence shoppers to buy from local suppliers.
But there is a feeling among the public that both the government (76 per cent) and supermarkets (77 per cent) need to do more to support British fishermen and food producers.
With 48 per cent of shoppers stating they check labels on food they pick up.
The research was commissioned by Discover Seafood, an initiative run by The Fishmongers’ Company, which is urging supermarkets to stock more British species to meet consumer demand for local produce and support fishermen from these shores.
Spokesperson Gavin O’Donnell said: “There is lots of great local produce available to consumers but knowing where to find it can be a struggle.
“It’s clear demand is there for food grown, caught and harvested in the UK so where is the support from retailers?
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00It is really important for me to eat locally.
00:03You've got the local boats, the fish coming straight from them,
00:06and you know it's in the British waters.
00:16When it comes to the environmental concerns,
00:18I think obviously choosing local produce would be better.
00:21It tends to be cheaper and also tastes nicer
00:23and feel like it's nourishing my body a little bit better.
00:25I work in a restaurant locally as a head chef,
00:27so it is really important for us as a business
00:29to build relationships with our suppliers, fisheries, butchery.
00:32I live in Nottingham, which is quite away from the sea.
00:34If you come to fish and chip shops down here,
00:36you get a little bit more than when you're in Nottingham,
00:38where it's just coddock and haddock.
00:39It's limited, but I understand the difficulties
00:41with geography and freshness.
00:42I think choice is quite important.
00:44I love, you know, the local restaurants and stuff around here.
00:47If the food's local, you know, the better.
00:49Price point is definitely what's put me off eating more seafood.
00:52I mean, perhaps if there's more opportunities
00:53to buy direct from the fishermen,
00:55then that would probably make it more accessible.
00:57If you do have to pay a little bit extra,
00:59at least you know it's becoming local
01:00and you're putting more into local businesses as well.
01:02It's fresh and I've caught it, so, you know, that's what matters to me.
01:06Whatever we catch, we'll eat ourselves, so yeah, that's all it's for.
01:10I have different demands from different people in my household,
01:12so I have to shop all over the place.
01:14You will go a certain distance to, you know, 20, 30 miles to go get good food.
01:18I'd like to see more produce that is in season, like local apples.
01:23I want to see more locally caught fish on our plate.
01:25I want to see mussels, I want to see clams.
01:27A bit of place or a bit of monkfish or something like that.
01:29You can get that, but it's not the staple.
01:31If you know where to look, you can find smaller independent suppliers,
01:35but it can be quite tricky.
01:36With low prices from other countries bringing it in,
01:38it's putting our produce under threat.
01:40If we paid a little bit more, we would have the better British fish
01:45caught in our waters supporting our fishermen.