Takeaway not a treat but part of lifestyle for many, finds report

DESPITE our best intentions, “ready to” meals from supermarkets and takeaway food are dominating everyday lives.

Half the participants in conducted by research group IPSOS acknowledged the convenience of takeaway food, eating out and ready to eat meals.

AUSTRALIANS want to improve their diet but are failing because of the increasing habit of eating out, buying takeaway or ready-to-eat supermarket meals, a new survey shows.

Half the participants in The Food-Health Report conducted by research group IPSOS acknowledged the convenience of takeaway food, eating out and ready to eat meals, with 10 per cent rationalising it by blaming work-life pressures, but 37 per cent think of it as an indulgence, despite choosing to eat out or buy ready-made an average 2.5 times per week — suggests it is not a treat at all but part of their lifestyle.

“Ready to” meals from supermarkets have an almost equal share with eating-out and takeaway food from chains, restaurants, clubs and pubs consumed during the week, but the purchase of supermarket “ready to” meals dropped by half during the weekend.

“We may have a whole lot of priorities and concerns in the supermarket, thinking about what we are going to construct ourselves, that fall away when we go out shopping,” said IPSOS’s executive director Professor Rebecca Huntley.

“We might think about ‘Is it organic’ and ‘What is the salt content’ at the supermarket, but are we going to say to the person behind the fast-food counter, ‘How much salt is there in this’.

“They may have kilojoule information there but (eating out) is a completely different mindset and level of control.”

While the supermarket “ready to” category, which includes the like of check-out counter curry and rice or ready to eat pastas, is relatively young in Australia, Professor Huntley says it will develop further as has happened in the UK.

“There is an opportunity for supermarkets to diversify the range and provide more (nutritional) information. People are more in a mindset about health and food in the supermarket than they are when they are ‘out’ for a dinner.”

The national IPSOS survey of 3000 people aged 18 and over was conducted on behalf of food manufacturers, FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) retailers, supermarkets and industry representatives, and is the most comprehensive report of its type ever undertaken.

Dietitian Susie Burrell said the dining statistics are not surprising but given the takeaway trend, it is about making better takeaway choices.

“City-based people are overwhelmed by family, work, commuting, social occasions and socialising in general. They don’t have the time to decide on meal preparation, planning and shopping. They don’t have the energy to bring it all together as best they can,” she said.

“So if it’s seven o’clock on a Thursday night, chicken and chips and salad is a better option than pizza.”

The report also found that a top priority when choosing food is country of origin and/or manufacture which was rated almost as important as the list of ingredients and nutritional information.

It is connected to public perception about how we manage our natural resources, Professor Huntley said.

“In theory it has more stamina and longevity than the mining boom but what are we doing with it? Are we just going to just sell the farm? There is also a concern about safety of imported food,” she said.

Logos and endorsements also received substantial levels of consideration when shopping.

The high score of Australian Made and to a lower extent the newer Home Grown logo highlights the importance of country of origin and/or manufacture for food and drink products, the survey found.

“The desire to buy Australian has been fortified in the area of food because it has declined in other areas (such as cars and clothing),” Professor Huntley said.

“There are reasons why we should be buying our own food. Which is where I (the shopper) am going to make the exception about where it’s grown, where I wouldn’t necessarily do so if it were a T-shirt or a book.”

The Heart Foundation logo also received a tick of approval as did “free-range” poultry, despite there not being a national standard. Australian Certified Organic, on the other hand, punched below its weight when it came to recognition factor, the report found.

While most people read nutritional information labels they found the numbers used to describe colours, stabilisers and preservatives, as specified by the international Codex, caused concern because they were uncertain as to what the ingredients are or why they are present.

Ms Burrell says very few people that she sees understand or can interpret the nutritional labels.

“We are taught about nutrition in isolation. We are taught about sugar and fat and salt but not in the context of the whole diet,” said Ms Burrell who advocates improved labelling, such as a traffic light system.

“Any kind of better labelling system is going to help us make better choices,” she said.

The report also found that those who read nutritional information are more likely to have a normal Body Mass Index (BMI). And those who rarely read nutritional information are more likely to be overweight.

Professor Huntley said better understanding of labelling could significantly affect shopping habits and therefore BMI.

“We could wonder whether labelling might actually be the key (to lowering obesity rates). If we could tell them, ‘This is the proper interpretion’, we could actually shift the BMI.”

Meal priorities vary substantially between breakfast and lunch or dinner and all consumers valued taste above all other considerations.

However, freshness is not so much a consideration at breakfast whereas it is at lunch and dinner, while nutrition is considered less important at lunch and dinner than for breakfast.

Consumers said minimal processing of food rated as one of the top issues and waste of food was a top priority while a plant-based diet rated least important.

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