Topic guide to: Food Consumption

Family Food

Department: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
A report on the Expenditure and Food Survey.

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Family Food is the source of detailed statistical information on the purchases, expenditure and nutrient intakes derived from both household and eating out food and drink. Data are collected via a voluntary sample survey of private households run at household level. The survey is continuous, interviews being spread evenly over the year to ensure that seasonal effects are covered. Each household member over the age of seven keeps a diary of all their expenditure over a two-week period. The diaries record expenditure and quantities.  
As well as collecting diary information, interviewers collect information on the demographics of the household such as ages, income, employment and ethnic origin. 
The figures for Family Food are sourced from the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF) run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This survey is also the data source for the Family Spending report published by ONS.
 
Time series available:

Purchases for household consumption

• Purchases and expenditure by food type, 1974 to present
• Energy and nutrient intake, 2001/02 to present

Purchases for eating out consumption

• Purchases and expenditure by food type, 2001/02 to present
• Energy and nutrient intake, 2001/02 to present

All of the above datasets can also be viewed by geographic and demographic splits, for example:.

• Government Office Region
• Gross income quintile group
• Age of household reference person
• Ethnic origin of household reference person
• Economic status of household reference person

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Sampling frame

The Living Costs and Food (LCF) sample for Great Britain is a multi-stage stratified random sample with clustering. It is drawn from the Small Users file of the Postcode Address File (the Post Office’s list of addresses). The Northern Ireland sample is drawn as a random sample of addresses from the Land and Property Services Agency list. 

The LCF has been weighted to reduce the effect of non-response bias and produce population totals and means. The weights are produced in two stages. First, the data are weighted to compensate for non-response (sample-based weighting). Second, the sample distribution is weighted so that it matches the population distribution in terms of region, age group and sex (population-based weighting). 

Purchased quantities and portion sizes

Using the recorded diaries and interviews the survey records:

• weight/volume and amount paid for all food and drink brought home (including free food)
• amount paid for takeaway meals and snacks eaten at home. Defra estimates portion size
• amount paid for all food and drink consumed away from home and type of meal, and
• free food eaten within the household and away from home

For household purchases, the volumes are collected in the diaries and through till receipts. This is not possible for eating out, takeaways and some instances of free food. For these items Defra uses estimated portion sizes to calculate weight/volume and in turn, nutrient intakes. Where possible, whole meals eaten out are split into food components.

Intakes

Estimated nutrient intakes are calculated using nutrient composition data supplied by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The majority of the data is from the FSA’s nutrient analysis programme, supplemented by values from manufacturers and retailers. Each of the 500 food codes in the LCF is made up of a number of sub-codes with nutrient composition data attached. A weighted average nutrient composition is calculated for each food code based on estimates of the market share of each sub-code. The nutrient composition data are updated on a rolling basis to keep information in line with new or reformulated products. All nutrient compositions are based on edible food and take into account inedible waste, for example, banana skins.

Trends and ticks

Trend indicators and reliability ticks are published alongside many of the estimates within this publication. The aim of these quality assessments is to make estimates on purchases, expenditure and intakes easier to interpret and use. In all cases, the method is approximate and based on sampling errors ignoring any other kinds of error.

The reliability ticks come directly from the approximate standard errors of the estimates.  They indicate how reliable the estimate is by looking at the relative standard errors of the estimate. 

Trend indicators in the form of an arrow are intended to provide a guide as to whether there is a short-term trend. Four years is chosen as the period over which to check for the presence of a statistically significant trend, since it is considered long enough to show a trend and short enough to be current.

For more information on methodology see the Family Food website.
https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/efs/method/default.asp

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