IFIC has long been an engaged leader and voice of reason in science, media, and stakeholder communications regarding food safety and nutrition. This point of view comes from our study of consumer knowledge and perceptions, as well as regulatory and policy actions, and how these factors, together, can potentially affect consumer behavior.
Confidence In The Safety Of The Food Supply Continues To Erode
The 2024 IFIC Food & Health Survey brought a disturbing finding to the forefront. Between 2023 and 2024, confidence in the safety of the U.S. food supply dropped significantly, with the percentage of people expressing strong or moderate confidence falling from 70% to 62%. This is despite the fact that the U.S. is widely regarded as having one of the safest food supplies in the world.
We commissioned the IFIC Spotlight Survey: American Consumer Perceptions of Food Ingredient Safety to gain greater insight into how consumers consider both the risks and benefits of the foods and beverages they consume. Specifically, we sought to comprehend consumers’ thought processes around particular ingredients, and reported food choices, within our noisy communications environment. Top takeaways and key insights include:
Americans are oriented toward food and beverage benefits over risks alone. Almost one in four Americans (23%) say they don’t think about the health risks or benefits of their food and drink choices. Meanwhile, nearly four in ten (39%) consider both factors equally. However, when looking at individual responses, a greater percentage of consumers (30%) report thinking about health benefits more often than health risks (8%).
Widely covered food safety subjects are top-of-mind for consumers. Americans express the highest levels of consternation about E.coli and heavy metals, with 32% of consumers expressing concern over E. coli in beef, 29% concerned with lead, cadmium, and/or arsenic in baby food, and 27% concerned about mercury in seafood.
The majority of Americans report awareness of specific food ingredients. Of the 11 ingredients we inquired about in our survey, the majority (seven) are familiar to the majority of consumers, with 71% to 59% of consumers saying that they have heard about them. Caffeine (71%), sugar substitutes (68%), and flavors (66%) have the highest level of recognition, followed by dyes/colors (60%), allergens (60%), gluten (60%), and preservatives (59%).
Dyes/colors and low- and no-calorie sweeteners are avoided most often by those who expressed awareness of specific ingredients. Among those who report hearing about at least one of the food ingredients presented to them, dyes/colors (35%), sugar substitutes (34%), MSG (29%), bioengineered/GMO ingredients (27%), nanoplastics (26%), and preservatives (25%) are avoided most often. Fewer Americans report avoiding caffeine (19%), flavors (18%), allergens (18%), gluten (17%), and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (16%). Nearly three in 10 (29%) say they do not avoid any of these ingredients in foods or beverages. Among those who avoid dyes/colors, the top two reasons for avoidance are the belief that they are unhealthy and/or unsafe to consume.
When considering any potential risk, it’s all or nothing. When asked if the amount, number, or presence of an ingredient(s) is most important when considering potential health risks associated with packaged foods and beverages, close to one-third (31%) say the mere presence of an ingredient is most important; however, an equal percentage indicate that they do not consider any of these factors. Fewer (21%) say the amount of an ingredient and the remaining 16% say the number of ingredients is most important.
Ingredient avoiders trust dietitians, medical experts, and scientists. Consumers avoiding specific ingredients say they most trust registered dietitians (73%), primary healthcare providers (62%), food and nutrition scientists/experts (69%), chefs or culinary professionals (53%), and health-focused websites (51%). Less than half report trust in family and friends (47%), government agencies (45%), and posts in their social media feeds (20%) on this topic.
Facts and practical actions are the most desirable types of information. When asked what type of information they want more of when it comes to the safety of food ingredients – facts to learn, science to read, or practical actions to take – consumers overwhelmingly (more than seven in 10) express a preference for facts to learn (38%). Next, they chose actions to take (33%), all over science to read (14%). This demonstrates the important role that informed, trusted messengers play in communicating scientific knowledge into factual, understandable, practical, compelling, digestible, and, yes, actionable information.
Effective Science Communication Is Needed In Today’s Overwhelming Information Environment
Whether it’s information about nutrition, food safety, chemicals, microbial contaminants, allergens, sustainability, food processing – and so many other related topics – consumers are bombarded with messages and perspectives. Consumers are drinking from a firehose of information and must constantly distinguish scientific facts from well-meaning myths and even deliberate misrepresentations. As such, it’s increasingly difficult to be a confident consumer and effective builder of healthy dietary patterns without simultaneously being a dietitian, toxicologist, and food technologist. In a word, it is overwhelming.
And, because the goal is to achieve an evidence-based understanding of food and ingredient safety to help build healthy eating patterns among consumers, we postulate that instilling fear is counter-productive to diet quality and nutrition security. Instead, we offer the following approaches to create and elevate effective science communication by striking a more productive tone.
Top Tips For Trusted Messengers When Communicating About Food & Ingredient Safety
- Become familiar with US federal agencies’, including the FDA’s, strength in regulating the safety of ingredients permitted to be used in food formulation. Check out the latest IFIC Expert Webinar on this topic here.
- Provide perspective and utilize best-in-class science communication principles.
- Consult consumer insights when creating compelling consumer communications, providing facts and practical actions steps.