Consumer Food-Safety Concerns Ease: Study

Consumers are doing more research and reading food labels more carefully, indicating a higher level of engagement in food shopping. About half (51%) say country of origin (COO) labels help them decide which meat, fish, fruit, or vegetables to purchase and 45% said they would like a web site that lists COO information for all ingredients in a packaged food product. This survey also found that 53% of consumers "frequently" or "always" read the ingredient label on an unfamiliar item, which is an increase of 3% from 2008.

Even though more consumers are reading labels, only 45% say they understand at least three-quarters of the ingredients on packaged food items, while 55% say they understand half or less of the ingredients on a label.

The top five nutritional facts consumers look for are calories (71%), total fat (63%), sugars (50%), sodium (45%), and serving size (39%). A significant number of consumers (42%) are heavily influenced by health-related claims such as "low carb," "low sodium," or "heart healthy." These consumers frequently or always make such purchases.