The Maltese are the most quality-oriented people in the EU when shopping for food, according to a survey.

While 65 per cent of EU respondents to the Eurostat survey said quality was the most important ingredient when deciding what products to put in their supermarket trolley, the figure shoots up to 86 per cent in Malta’s case.

Cyprus, fellow islanders, comes a close second at 84 per cent.

For the Maltese, price is in second place, even though it is considered by manufactures and importers as an important factor when it comes to making choices. Only 58 per cent of respondents in Malta said price carried weight.

On the other hand, the Maltese seem to be quite taken in by branding.

A full 60 per cent said they attached a lot of importance to brand where foodstuffs are concerned, compared to only 47 per cent of Europeans.

Food labelling, which has been substantially boosted in Malta in the past years due to new standards reached under stringent EU rules, is also being regarded as an important factor by Maltese consumers.

According to the survey, 75 per cent of Maltese shoppers look at the details of the food label before selecting particular products, with 34 per cent admitting that they “always” looked at the label.

Only the Italians have a better record than the Maltese when it comes to scouring food labels.

More than 90 per cent of EU citizens consider quality and price to be important factors when buying food, more important than origin (71 per cent) and brand (47 per cent).

Quality labels are important for two-thirds of respondents, and there is an improvement on previous years in the recognition of the different EU quality logos.

The survey showed that 24 per cent of those asked already recognise the EU organic logo, less than two years after it was launched.

In Malta, the survey was conducted in Misco last March among some 499 random respondents.