Supermarkets are no better now than they were a year ago at sourcing fruit and veg from Britain, according to a survey of consumer attitudes to food miles. More than half the 1,000 shoppers questioned (57%) thought supermarkets were not trying hard enough, despite opening regional buying offices and stiff competition to get the first British strawberries, daffodils and apples into stores. The figure has barely changed since the British Market Research Bureau's first food miles survey last year. However, awareness of the food miles issue has risen from 36% to 59% and was nearly 75% among the over-50s. The majority of shoppers - 84% - said they would buy more British produce if it were available, while nearly half would be prepared to pay more. Nearly two-thirds said less produce should be imported, even if it meant less variety in stores at certain times of the year. "The majority of British shoppers perceive environmental issues to be more important than breadth of choice and price," said Paul Milson, consultant at BMRB. Consumers wanted to know where their food had come from and that the environment hadn't been damaged during the production process, added the National Farmers' Union senior food chain adviser, Robert Newbery. "The trickier message is to get consumers to enthuse about buying in season," he said. IGD agreed shoppers wanted to buy more local and regional foods, but said retailers were trying to meet demand. "They've made significant steps to source local food products, which were once restricted to farm outlets and specialist shops," said chief executive Joanne Denney-Finch. A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said the store bought British wherever it could and was actively working with farmers to extend the growing season.

Topics