The first-ever World Food Safety Day, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018, has been celebrated on 7 June under the theme 'Food Safety, everyone's business'.

During the day all stakeholders are invited to raise global awareness about food safety in general and to highlight that everyone involved in food systems has a part to play.

With a growing number of concerns regarding allergies and intolerances, the data showed:
> 39% of the nation (17,914,344) don’t feel that they know enough about the ingredients in the food they eat
> 42.4 million (81%) of the nation are not aware that soy sauce contains gluten
> 8.4 million believe that crisps are vegan when most crisps contain dairy products
> 44% of respondents (22,958,441) said that food labels are difficult and at times impossible to read

Will Broome, CEO and Founder of supermarket shopping app, Ubamarket, said, “For those of us with allergies, dietary requirements, health concerns or simply those that don’t enjoy certain ingredients, food labels are essential. However, research has found that almost 23m shoppers find the labels impossible to read. Clearly, what should be an informational tool is not serving its purpose.

'With the UK retail arena under acute scrutiny, supermarkets need to become aware that consumers shop with more thought and consideration of nutritional and ingredient contents, choosing specific diets that they are committed to sticking to. Once supermarkets are ready to address this, the next step will be implementing structures to make those consumer profiles feel that their unique nutritional habits are catered for.

'It would be useful for UK shoppers to be able to scan items using technology or apps and receive an alert for any allergens, including whether the item is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.”

(source: Ubamarket, image: pixabay)