Mark Diffley, a seasoned expert in research and polling with 25 years of experience, presented findings of a recent survey commissioned by NFU Scotland focused upon consumer choice.

The survey uncovered that food labelling in the UK is often confusing, vague and misleading, resulting in a significant lack of transparency for consumers.

Conducted by Edinburgh-based market research firm Diffley Partnership, the survey included 1,744 interviews with a nationally represented sample of 1,140 UK residents, along with 604 from Scotland.

Commenting on the results, NFU Scotland Chief Executive John Davidson said: “Consumers are entitled to know the origin of the food they are buying to help them make informed choices.

MORE NEWS | Alistair Carmichael raises concerns over budget and food security

MORE NEWS | NFUS vote to withdraw from DGP scheme

“Our findings support a radical overhaul – led by Governments but also embraced by retailers – of the regulatory framework governing the rules around food labelling and we call on all Governments to act.”

Quality, freshness and price emerged as the top three reasons for consumers to purchase produce, with respondents ranking these factors between one and ten. With 62% of Scottish respondents indicating that the country of origin is important to them.

Despite this concern only 41% of Scottish consumers feel knowledgeable about where their food is grown and produced. Additionally, just 57% believe it is usually clear which country their food originates from, while only 49% think the information regarding country of origin displayed on products is adequate.

This survey also highlighted the importance of clear labelling. A significant 82% of Scottish consumers expressed that having the saltire prominently displayed on food labels is useful, compared to 77% who feel similarly about the UK flag.

The findings revealed that 71% of Scottish consumers are more likely to purchase a product featuring the Saltire, with 56% stating they’d be more inclined if the British flag was displayed too.

The survey also indicated strong support for local food.

An estimated 66% of consumers believe that purchasing local foods primarily benefits the local economy, while 50% see it as a way to preserve farming communities. Remarkably, 78% of consumers are willing to spend more on local food, and 70% are open to paying extra for food produced anywhere in the UK.

Delving deeper into the findings, Mr Davidson expanded: “Consumers across the UK, but especially in Scotland, are extremely supportive of local food producers and are willing to spend more to support this. This needs to be understood by the market in respect of their sourcing policies.

“There is only limited knowledge within consumers as to the origin of the food that they buy. This supports the view that there is a lack of transparency for consumers to help them make informed choices.

“There is very strong support for the ‘Saltire’ label in Scotland, which commands respect and trust in relation to its quality, safety and production credentials.

“And there is staunch support for more and clearer information on pack where the majority of the product is grown and produced ‘outwith’ Scotland/UK – this could be in the form of a new label which clearly identifies this.”