Awareness among EU citizens about the functioning of the EU's food safety system has grown, and more people are familiar with various food safety-related topics. This is revealed in the latest Eurobarometer survey conducted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
According to the opinion survey, 79% of EU citizens are aware that food safety in the EU is ensured through common regulations. This marks a six percentage point increase compared to three years ago. Awareness has especially increased regarding animal diseases, microplastics in food, and food poisoning. At the same time, trust in the cooperation between EU and national authorities, as well as in scientific expertise, has strengthened.
Consumers’ main concerns remain pesticides (39%), antibiotics and hormones in meat (36%), and food additives (35%). These figures have slightly decreased compared to three years ago. In contrast, concern about microplastics in food (33%) has clearly increased.
Third most important factor
Around 70% of Europeans report being personally interested in food safety, making it the third most important factor (46%) influencing food choices—right after cost (60%) and taste (51%). The importance of cost has increased by six percentage points since 2022 and was the most influential factor in food choices in 20 EU member states.
Four out of ten Europeans say they trust that the food sold is safe and therefore do not actively follow food safety information. The second most common reason (30%) is that people feel they already know enough to avoid or reduce risks.
Trust in authorities remains stable
The survey also explored where citizens get information about food risks. The most trusted sources are doctors (90%), scientists (84%), and consumer organizations (82%). Trust in national authorities (70%) and EU institutions (69%) has slightly increased compared to three years ago. Television (55%) remains the most common source of information, although its popularity has slightly declined. Meanwhile, the use of social media and blogs (25%) as information sources has grown.
According to the survey, Finns and Swedes have the highest trust in national authorities as sources of food risk information (95%). In Finland, newspapers (53%)—both print and digital—are the primary source of information on food risks, followed by internet search engines (45%) and television (44%).
EFSA conducts the Eurobarometer survey on food safety every three years. This year, the survey was carried out in all 27 EU member states and seven candidate countries. The results provide valuable insights for authorities on which topics citizens want more communication about and whom they trust regarding food safety.
Read more:
EFSA’s news article on the topic
2025 Eurobarometer: Food Safety in the EU (including fact sheets from all 27 member states and 7 candidate countries)