People in North Ayrshire are being urged to spend a little longer looking at food labelling to see exactly what they're eating.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have been holding forums and chatting with the general public and have heard that consumers tend to fall back on the ‘sight and smell test’ as they feel this means less food is wasted.

Some of the country’s biggest supermarkets are supporting the #lookatthelabel campaign organised by the FSS, which encourages people across the country to make safer, healthier and more informed choices when buying food and drink.

The aim is to increase understanding of the importance of ‘use by’ dates, colour-coded nutrition labelling, storage advice and allergens information.

Only 28 per cent of adults report that they always check the nutrition content of food. The front of pack colour-coded labelling, which has been adopted by the majority of the UK’s major food retailers, provides nutritional information to help consumers make healthier choices.

With 22 per cent of Scots using product packaging for finding out information about food safety, and 32 per cent having experienced food poisoning, Geoff Ogle, Chief Executive of Food Standards Scotland, believes it's crucial for people to check what they're eating.

He said: “Food is important to all of us and perhaps not something we think too much about when buying it so we want to highlight the potential risks to consumer health, and that is why we are launching this innovative campaign, using blindfold imagery, which will hopefully inspire consumers to take a closer look at the label.

“The #lookatthelabel campaign asks consumers to take a few extra seconds to look at food labels beyond the price, and spend a bit more time looking at what the information on labels is telling you.

“How you’re going to store food isn’t something many consumers consider at point of purchase so we’re reminding people to look at the label when they’re at home putting their shopping away too.”