FSA Tracker Shows How Food Costs Are Reshaping Home Safety Habits

Food costs are increasingly showing up in household food-safety decisions, according to a new Food Standards Agency consumer tracker. In March 2026, 64% of respondents said they had eaten food past its use-by date as a money-saving behaviour, while 60% said they had eaten leftovers kept for more than two days.

The figures do not describe a recall, outbreak or laboratory finding. They come from an online monthly survey commissioned by the FSA and carried out through the YouGov panel. The research covers consumers aged 16 and over in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Around 2,000 people took part in each month of the reporting period: 2,201 in January, 2,170 in February and 2,101 in March.

Cost pressure is shaping kitchen decisions

The tracker places those behaviours in a wider affordability context. Almost one in four respondents, 23%, said they were worried about being able to afford food in March. That compares with 21% in January and 19% in February. Food prices were the biggest food-related concern, reported by 91% of respondents in March. Ultra-processed food and food waste in the food chain followed, both at 77%.

That combination matters because the cheapest-looking option is not always the safest one. Using food for longer can feel like a sensible way to avoid waste, especially when a household is trying to stretch a weekly shop. But the survey does not show that people were making the same choices with the same foods, storage conditions or preparation methods. It records reported behaviour, not an inspection of individual kitchens.

Why use-by dates are different

The FSA distinguishes between a use-by date and a best-before date. A use-by date is a food-safety control used for foods that can become unsafe quickly. The agency’s guidance on use-by dates says that food should not be eaten after the use-by date, even if it looks or smells normal. That is why the sniff test cannot replace the date label for perishable foods.

For home cooks, the practical point is to make the decision earlier. If a perishable item is unlikely to be used in time, cooking or freezing it before the use-by date can preserve its value without relying on an unsafe judgement after the date has passed. The FSA also notes that food can be safe until the end of the stated use-by date, provided it has been stored according to the instructions on the pack.

Leftovers need more context than a single number

The 60% figure for leftovers kept for more than two days deserves the same careful reading. The tracker does not provide a single safe storage period for every dish, because the answer depends on the food, how quickly it was chilled, the temperature of the refrigerator, whether it was handled safely and how often it was reheated. A container of cooked vegetables is not automatically equivalent to a dish containing meat, seafood, eggs or dairy.

The FSA’s wider research on eating at home treats cleaning, cooking, chilling, cross-contamination and date labels as separate parts of safe food handling. That framework is useful here: extending the life of leftovers is not one isolated habit, but part of a chain that begins with preparation and continues through cooling, storage and reheating.

In other words, the survey does not prove that every leftover reported by respondents was unsafe. It does show that cost-saving decisions are taking place in an area where small differences in handling can change the risk. Readers should avoid using the 60% statistic as permission to keep any particular food indefinitely.

Food-safety information is reaching people unevenly

The tracker also measured whether people had recently seen, heard or read information about food safety. Awareness of food-product recalls rose to 44% in February, compared with 34% in January, before moving back towards its usual level in March. Among people who had encountered food-safety information, news coverage was the most commonly reported source across the quarter: 48% in January, 61% in February and 52% in March.

That pattern suggests that public attention can move quickly when a recall or outbreak becomes prominent. It also explains why clear everyday guidance matters between major incidents. People still need to know what a use-by date means, how to handle leftovers and when a cost-saving shortcut crosses into avoidable risk, even when no alert is dominating the headlines.

What home cooks should take from the tracker

Treat use-by dates as safety information, not a quality suggestion.
Plan meals so perishable food can be cooked or frozen before its use-by date.
For leftovers, consider the food and its storage history rather than applying one blanket rule to every dish.
Use official guidance when a food has been recalled or when storage and reheating conditions are uncertain.

The FSA tracker does not portray households as careless. It shows how affordability, food waste and food safety are connected in ordinary kitchens. The most useful response is not to dismiss the behaviour or to treat one survey percentage as a risk measurement. It is to make safe choices easier: understand the label, act before the deadline and keep enough information about leftovers to decide responsibly.