Brands and retailers need to be more transparent when contamination occurs
High-profile fatalities – like that of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse – have thrust food contamination and product recall into the public spotlight.
As a result, shoppers have become more demanding, which has increased supply-chain complexity and made it imperative for businesses to deliver greater levels of transparency and assurances on safety. And all that was before the coronavirus pandemic changed the way we shop.
With the aim of better understanding how these issues are impacting manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike, we carried out industry research and commissioned a YouGov survey to take the pulse of the nation.
Highlights from our findings include:
Awareness
Two in every five people are mindful of food contamination whenever they buy food
Behavioural change
More than a third of shoppers would buy a recalled product less often
Transparency
Only 44% of UK adults think brands and retailers are transparent to some degree
The retail grocery industry is one with complicated and mounting responsibilities and needs to adapt quickly to retain consumer loyalty. With the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting our buying habits, we believe GS1 standards will become the core component of the next generation of total transparency tracking technology.