British shoppers are demanding more transparency and provenance data from their food according to a new report.
Consultancy firm Veris Strategies and producers Cranswick say public trust in the food system is “eroding to an all-time low” in their paper titled “Radical Transparency: The rise of disruptive consumerism'.
According to the report, as demand for provenance information grows the food industry will need to demonstrate greater accountability across the farm-to-fork supply chain, with safety, ethics and sustainability standards increasingly important to shoppers.
They predict that in the future consumers will want access to real-time information on traceability issues by using technology like smartphone apps, described as an “open kitchen”.
Professor Chris Elliott OBE, director of the Institute for Global Food Security said: “I highly commend the company for taking such bold and dynamic steps forward in terms of the transparency agenda.
“The ultimate goal must be that our UK citizens will once more start to trust the food that they rely on. Trust that has been lost due to scandal after scandal. To me, Cranswick is doing exactly the right thing at the right time and I can only hope others will follow suit.”
Cranswick’s group commercial director Jim Brisby added: “Sustainability, provenance and health are now key issues for shoppers. The whole food supply chain needs to be more visible so people can reconnect with where their food comes from.”
