Catalogue description Ministry of Food and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: National Food Survey and predecessors: Logbooks

The National Food Survey was first established in 1940 to monitor the diet of the urban working population during rationing in the Second World War.

In 1948 the National Food Survey Committee was set up to supervise this and any other food surveys, and to facilitate the application of survey findings in a national context. In 1950 the National Food Survey was expanded to cover the entire population and to collect data on food consumption and expenditure. This was co-ordinated by the Ministry of Food on an annual basis, with agreed definitions covering items of food, social class, age groups and household incomes. Responsibility for the fieldwork of these annual surveys rested with the London Press Exchange Ltd, but in 1953 it was transferred to the Social Survey Section of the Central Office of Information, which had been responsible for all government surveys. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was always responsible, however, for the collation and presentation of the data obtained, an operation computerised in 1962. Statistics are published annually by HMSO.

After 1953, the size and scope of the NFS underwent considerable expansion. Ideal levels of calorie and mineral intakes were monitored and in-depth surveys of the diets of various social groupings were undertaken. At the same time, more detailed enquiries were being undertaken as part of the annual survey, providing analyses of the expenditure and nutritional intake of various groups of people. The surveys also traced the link between food consumption and social habits, the growth of pre-packed food and increase in snack meals and the connections between diet and health.

In April 2001 the National Food Survey was replaced by the Expenditure and Food Survey which was overseen jointly by the Office for National Statistics and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.