Food in Scotland consumer tracker - wave 19 report

Published by:

  • Food Standards Scotland

Content guide

Activities in the last six months

Respondents were asked which, if any, activities they had done or not done in the last six months.

Done more often in the previous six months to save money

For most of these activities, slightly fewer this wave said they had done it more often in the last six months.

The most likely money saving activities were buying reduced to clear food items, cooking more food than needed to freeze for later, and bulking out meals with cheaper ingredients. However, although these were the top activities reported, the proportion cooking more food than needed and bulking out meals both significantly decreased from W18.

The priority of actions taken to save money fall in much the same order as they did in Wave 18.

Here is a visual only interactive chart of: Bar chart showing six money-saving activities done more often over three time periods, with a general decline in frequency.

Please find more information provided in the detailed description and/or table below.

ActivityPercentage
Bought reduced to clear items30%
Cooked more food than you need to freeze and eat later25%
Bulked out meals with cheaper ingredients20%
Skipped meals or reduced size of meal19%
Used the 'sniff test' when deciding if food is safe to eat19%
Reheated food more than once16%

Activities done less often in previous 6 months to save money

Around 1 in 10 said they'd done these activities less often in the previous 6 months to save money.

Here is a visual only interactive chart of: "Bar chart titled 'Activities done LESS often in previous six months to save money.' It shows six food-related behaviours with percentage values. Most activities show low percentages, ranging from 8% to 11%. Activities include buying reduced food, bulking meals, using the sniff test, skipping meals, reheating food, and batch cooking.

Please find more information provided in the detailed description and/or table below.

ActivityPercentage
Bought reduced to clear food items10
Bulked out meals with cheaper ingredients11
Used the 'sniff test' when deciding if food is safe to eat9
Skipped meals or reduced size of meal8
Reheated food more than once10
Cooked more food than you need to freeze and eat later11

References:

  1. Over the past 6 months, in order to save money, have you done any of the following more or less often? Base (all) W17: 1,039, W18: 1,027, W19: 1,009

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