Consumers do not know the prices of everyday purchases and have very little knowledge of the health and environmental issues around the food they consume, according to new research.

Of 800 consumers asked the prices of five staple items, not one got all prices right, even when the right answer was included in the prompts, the research presented to the RGDATA conference found.

A majority of those surveyed was unable to pick the right price from a choice of four for milk, bread, butter, tea and cereals in either supermarkets or convenience stores. Just 37 per cent were able to pick the right price for milk in a supermarket and 40 per cent the price of bread.

Shoppers also displayed a very low awareness of environmental issues, with only 24 per cent saying they had heard of the concept of "food miles" and 30 per cent knowing about "carbon footprints".

Two out of three consumers knew the recommended number of portions of fruit and vegetables a person should eat (five) and half knew the recommended intake of dairy items (three).

Shoppers claimed to have a good knowledge of the concept of "recommended daily allowance" but their lack of knowledge was quickly exposed. Just 2 per cent of men and 6 per cent of women picked the right level of daily sugar intake from a short list. The result for fat was 9 per cent for men and 35 per cent for women.

"We talk environment and health and security but this research shows people have very little understanding of these issues in food," said Colin Gordon, chief executive of Glanbia Consumer Foods, which carried out the research.

Theft from shops accounts for 18 per cent of all headline crime and it is rising, Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy said. More gardaí were being freed up from other duties to ensure greater visibility but retailers also needed to ensure their premises were not invitations to criminals.