Awareness and trust
Awareness
81% were aware of Food Standards Scotland (said they knew a lot/a little/ heard the name). 53% said they know a little or a lot about FSS, which is similar to Wave 21.
| Level of knowledge | W22 | W21 | W20 | W19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Know a lot about them | 13% | 16% | 16% | 11% |
| Know a little about them | 40% | 37% | 37% | 36% |
| Heard of but don’t know anything about them | 28% | 28% | 27% | 31% |
| Have not heard of them | 19% | 19% | 21% | 22% |
- 16-34 year olds (20%) were more likely to state they know a lot about FSS compared to those aged 35-64 (14%) and 65+ (3%).
- 65+ were more likely to know a little about them (49%) than the younger age groups (37% and 38% respectively).
- Ethnic minority respondents (27%) were more likely to know a lot about FSS compared to White respondents (12%).
- Those with children in the household (24% vs 8% of those without children) were also more likely to know a lot.
Trust
76% of those who say they have some knowledge of FSS say they trust the organisation which was similar to W21. However, the strength of trust has shifted slightly with fewer trusting it a lot.
| Level of trust | W22 | W21 | W20 | W19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I trust it a lot | 37% | 42% | 40% | 34% |
| I trust it | 38% | 35% | 38% | 38% |
| I neither trust nor distrust it | 22% | 21% | 20% | 23% |
| I distrust it | 2% | 2% | 2% | 4% |
| I distrust it a lot | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
High levels of trust were experienced across all demographic groups. No significant differences were reported.
Some of the reasons given for trusting FSS were:
- they keep consumers safe / act in public interest (24%)
- good standard of food/ Good quality food/Good experience (11%)
- expect them to be trustworthy (9%)
- they’re experts (8%)
- do important work (6%)
Reasons for not trusting FSS (of those who said they distrust FSS):
- bad experience / specifically distrust in FSS (n=7)
- don’t trust anyone generally (n=3)
- lack of transparency (n=2)
- distrust the information they provide (n=1)
- don’t trust Government organisations (n=2)
- heard bad reports of them (n=2)
- not helpful for consumers (n=1)
(Q3c. You said you trust/distrust FSS. What makes you think that? Base: (all who left a comment) 994)