The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has invested £16,000 in a tool for analysing social media in a bid to better understand public feelings about food issues.

Defra has signed a one-year contract for software from Pulsar, which specialises in “audience intelligence platform” products. The department is aiming to use technology to keep track of how the UK public feels about various topics related to food production.

“This tool will allow the food-chain analysis team to analyse consumer attitudes towards certain topics such as GM (genetically modified food), chlorinated chicken, [and others] to see how consumers are engaging with a topic.”