Shoppers in the Republic of Ireland regard health and nutrition as the most important factor governing their food purchases, even ahead of price, a new survey has found.

The Bord Bia survey which covered consumers here, in Northern Ireland and Britain, found that price was the most important factor influencing Northern Ireland consumers (41 per cent) while health and nutrition was most influential in the Republic (37 per cent).

When selecting which food store to shop in by far the most important consideration was the range of food products on offer in the survey.

This was found to be the case with 70 per cent of shoppers in the Republic, 68 per cent in Northern Ireland and 66 per cent in Britain.

This was followed by the quality of the fresh fruit and vegetables by 63 per cent of British shoppers, 57 per cent of shoppers in the Republic and 46 per cent of those in Northern Ireland.

The survey, which was compiled by Helen King, senior business analyst at Bord Bia, found that the buy-one-get-one-free was by far the most popular form of promotion with consumers, 64 per cent of British shoppers to 43 per cent in the Republic.