Shopping basket pilot survey
1. Aims
The shopping basket survey is a new approach to surveillance sampling for Food Standards Scotland (FSS), designed to run in parallel with our targeted surveillance priorities. The aims of the programme are:
- to provide assurance to consumers that the contents of the food shop are safe and authentic
- to gather data on commonly consumed foods that will inform risk assessments, horizon scanning and other surveillance sampling
2. Sampling approach
Due to the broad range of food types analysed in the survey, we are able to test for a range of hazards that present in different ways. This includes:
- hazards with a history of occurrence in certain foods, for example, high nitrates and sulphites in processed meat products or aflatoxins in nuts
- emerging risks or issues being detected more due to increased monitoring, such as PFAS in eggs or tropane alkaloids in cereals
- spot checks to ensure compliance and look for unexpected issues where there is currently no intelligence suggesting problems, for example lactose in lactose-free milks and allergens in plant-based milks
For the pilot survey, 12% of the total planned samples for the overall programme were collected between June and December 2025.
Sample details
- A total of 335 samples being collected across 58 different food categories.
- Sample collection took place in three Scottish cities (Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow).
- Six of the UK’s largest retailers were visited, representing 82% of the market share between them.
- Public Analyst laboratories carried out 45 different types of analysis on the samples.
Some of the test types included:
- microbiological quality (pathogens and hygiene indicator organisms)
- authenticity checks such as meat species and composition
- presence of undeclared allergens
- presence of excess or unauthorised colours and preservatives
- contaminants such as heavy metals or mycotoxins
- nutritional content
3. Sampling plan
The sampling plan was informed by the design study, with the number of samples for each food category determined by the volume of the food purchased by Scottish consumers balanced with the potential risks posed by the food.
The table below details all food categories sampled in the pilot by volume.
| Food category | Number of samples |
|---|---|
| Milk, plant 'milk', lactose-free milk | 36 |
| Ambient apple juice | 24 |
| Loose bakery, gluten-free, long-life bread | 24 |
| Salad/herbs, leafy veg, pre-prepared | 21 |
| Chilled bakery | 21 |
| Fresh/pre-cut fruit, berries & grapes, dried fruit | 18 |
| Meat ready meals, frozen vegetables | 14 |
| Ambient cakes/pastries | 11 |
| Ginger biscuits, oat biscuits | 10 |
| Flour, rapeseed oil, yellow/red spices | 9 |
| Chilled ready meals containing meat | 9 |
| Oats, maize, cereals, jams, nut butters | 8 |
| Oily fish, meat, curry sauces | 6 |
| Protein yoghurts, non-dairy yoghurts | 6 |
| Fresh poultry | 6 |
| Nuts | 6 |
| Dry pasta, basmati rice | 6 |
| Infant food | 4 |
| Eggs | 4 |
| Cooked meats | 4 |
| Chilled meat pies | 4 |
| Beef mince | 4 |
| Raw milk, cheese, low fat cheese | 4 |
| Bacon (chilled) | 4 |
| Frozen raw haddock/cod | 4 |
| Minced or diced pork | 4 |
| Chilled burgers | 4 |
| Butter/margarine | 4 |
| Chilled apple juice/protein drinks | 4 |
| Sausages | 4 |
| Minced or diced meat or poultry | 4 |
| Fresh soup | 4 |
| Chilled rice | 4 |
| Ready to eat smoked fish, chilled oily fish | 4 |
| Chilled continental sausages | 4 |
| Infant formula | 4 |
4. Results
Out of 335 samples analysed, 7 were deemed unsatisfactory by analysts (2.1% of total). The 7 unsatisfactory samples were:
- 3 chilled bakery products due to hygiene indicator organisms (caramel tart, cream horn, éclair)
- 4 meat products due to fat content compared with declaration (pork and venison sausages and pork and beef mince)
All unsatisfactory samples were due to hygiene indicators or meat composition; as such, there was no immediate risk to consumers identified. Nevertheless, all unsatisfactory results were communicated to the relevant local authorities to take appropriate action.
The overall high level of compliance should provide Scottish consumers with assurance that the contents of their weekly food shop are safe and authentic.
The pilot phase of the survey successfully gathered valuable retail surveillance data and delivered proof of concept for the programme.