Survey tracked shopper habits from 1974 to modern day

British shoppers are buying 67 per cent less fresh potatoes but 50 per cent more fresh fruit than they did in 1974, new figures have shown.

Fresh vegetables including cucumbers, courgettes, aubergines and mushrooms are also more popular nowadays, while bananas have been the most popular fruit in the UK since 1996, reaching 221g per adult per week in 2014, above apples (131g) and oranges (48g).

The National Food Survey was set up by the wartime government who were concerned about access to food, and has been running in some form since 1940. This is the first time figures from the survey have been released, as part of Defra’s ‘open data’ initiative.

Around 150,000 households completed diaries of their weekly food and drink purchases to create national estimates of food trends between 1974 and 2000.

As well as consumption figures, the survey shows how the UK’s relationship with food has changed over three generations and how this links to cultural changes.

It flags up technology advances, such as the introduction of freezers and microwaves, as key moments that changed food patterns in the UK. For example, a shopping list in 1974 included canned peas and potatoes, while a comparable household in 2000 (when 94 per cent owned a freezer) bought peas and chips.

Convenience is another key change, with ready meals sales having rocketed in modern day, while shoppers are spending 11 per cent of their income on food, compared to 24 per cent in 1974.

“Food is the heart and soul of our society and this data not only shows what we were eating 40 years ago, but how a change in culture has led to a food revolution,” said environment minister Liz Truss. “Shoppers are more plugged in to where their food comes from than ever before, the internet has brought quality produce to our doorsteps at the click of a button, pop up restaurants are showcasing the latest trends and exciting global cuisines are now as common as fish and chips.

“We’ve only scraped the surface of what the National Food Survey can tell us and from local food maps and school projects to predicting new food trends, I look forward to seeing how this data can be used to learn more about our past and grow our world-leading food and farming industry in the future.”