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| Horsemeat scandal: consumer fears have eased, poll shows | Horsemeat scandal: consumer fears have eased, poll shows |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The government appears to have averted a crisis of confidence in the meat industry by telling consumers the horsemeat scandal posed no health risk, suggest pollsters who questioned more than 8,000 people online. | The government appears to have averted a crisis of confidence in the meat industry by telling consumers the horsemeat scandal posed no health risk, suggest pollsters who questioned more than 8,000 people online. |
| The proportion of people who say they will change their shopping habits – or claim they would buy more fresh meat, cut down on ready meals or avoid products from companies linked to the scare – has dropped from 52% at the height of the furore to 47%. | |
| Figures published by Kantar show more women than men say they have changed their buying habits, but analysts are cautious about predicting the long-term impact on consumer behaviour. A question posed in February as to whether consumers would be less likely to buy processed meat as a result of the revelations over equine contamination – more than a third said they were – was not repeated this month. However, very few people – less than 1% – said they would buy more. | |
| Also the proportion saying they would buy locally sourced meat from retailers such as farm shops or local butchers rose from 13% to 16%. However, those saying they would buy more fresh meat fell from 20% to 17%, and the proportion claiming they would purchase fewer ready meals with meat fell from 13% to 11%. | Also the proportion saying they would buy locally sourced meat from retailers such as farm shops or local butchers rose from 13% to 16%. However, those saying they would buy more fresh meat fell from 20% to 17%, and the proportion claiming they would purchase fewer ready meals with meat fell from 13% to 11%. |
| The scandal still had potential to cause lasting change in buying and eating habits as there would be a segment of consumers who might have been turned off processed meat completely, said Lloyd Burdett, head of global clients and strategy at Kantar's the Futures Company. | The scandal still had potential to cause lasting change in buying and eating habits as there would be a segment of consumers who might have been turned off processed meat completely, said Lloyd Burdett, head of global clients and strategy at Kantar's the Futures Company. |
| "We are told horsemeat poses no health risks for consumers, but if that situation was to change then we would expect to see a bigger long-term impact on consumer attitudes and behaviour." | "We are told horsemeat poses no health risks for consumers, but if that situation was to change then we would expect to see a bigger long-term impact on consumer attitudes and behaviour." |
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