Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1302895
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 OCTOBER 2020 JAMES DEBONO THE Maltese like their food to be tasty, nutritious, safe and unprocessed, but are not so worried on where it comes from and what environmental and social impact it has. A Eurobarometer survey car- ried out in September shows that when buying their food, the Maltese are among the least in Europe to care about its geographical origin and its en- vironmental impact than most other Europeans. But the Maltese are more likely to attribute importance to taste and are the most likely in Europe to consider nutrient content as an important factor when buying their food. Geographical origin is only an important factor for 15% of Maltese consumers when choosing which food to buy compared to 34% of all EU re- spondents. The most likely in Europe to give importance to geographi- cal origin are the French (45%), the Swedes (44%) the Germans (43%), the Finns (41%) and the Italians (40%). Moreover only 7% of Maltese consider the impact on the en- vironment and climate as an important factor when choos- ing what food to buy, compared to 15% of all EU respondents. In contrast 27% of Swedes and 23% of Germans and Danes, consider the impact on the environment as an important factor when buying food. But the least to care about environ- mental impact of food choices were the Lithuanians, among which 3% only consider this as an important impact. The Maltese are also among the least in Europe to give im- portance to ethical considera- tion related to animal welfare, religion and fair trade. Only 5% of Maltese men- tioned this as an important factor compared to 31% of Germans, 30% of Danes and Austrians and 24% of Swedish respondents. But the Maltese are among the most likely to give im- portance to taste (55%). Only the Portuguese (59%) and the Czechs (58%) give more impor- tance to taste than the Maltese. Along with the Dutch, the Maltese are also the most likely in Europe to give importance to having their food minimally processed. 32% of Maltese con- sider this to be an important consideration in contrast to just 6% of Portuguese respond- ents. The survey shows that the Maltese are the most likely in Europe to identify nutrient content as an important factor (48%). In contrast the least to care about nutrient content are the French (23%). Food safety is also a very im- portant factor for the Maltese, 41% of which consider this as an important consideration. The Italians (58%) are the most likely to consider this as an im- portant factor. Surprisingly only 38% of Mal- tese consider cost as an impor- tant factor in choosing food, less than 40% among all EU re- spondents. The most likely to worry about cost are the Por- tuguese (70%) and Lithuanians (61%). jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt NEWS Taste more important than food origin for Maltese Malta Italy France Germany EU 27 Taste 54% 35% 52% 41% 45% Nutrient content 48% 35% 23% 34% 33% Food safety 41% 58% 34% 40% 42% Cost 38% 31% 45% 32% 40% Minimal processing 32% 10% 18% 9% 16% Shelf-life 24% 20% 26% 11% 20% Where food comes from 15% 40% 45% 43% 34% Convenience 13% 12% 5% 6% 9% Climate impact 7% 15% 19% 23% 15% Ethics/Animal welfare/fair trade 5% 19% 8% 31% 16% When you buy food, which of the following are the most important to you? Respondents were allowed to mention 3 answers The Maltese are the most likely in Europe to identify nutrient content as an important factor (48%)