Did you know that most consumers (60 percent) don’t know if current supermarket foods are produced through biotechnology?
The International Food Information Council Foundation recently hosted a webinar entitled “Understanding Consumer Perceptions of Food Technology,” which highlighted a need for consumer food technology education.
Overall, less Americans (54 percent) avoid specific foods or ingredients as compared to three years ago (61 percent) – see below chart.
When looking at biotechnology, nearly 50 percent of Americans say they are “neutral” or don’t know enough about food production biotechnology to form an opinion. When they do purchase biotech foods, they do it for specific benefits – nutrition/health (32 percent), improved quality/taste (24 percent) and price/economic benefit (24 percent).
With the new USDA Dietary Guidelines scheduled to be released in December 2010, brands have an opportunity to educate Americans on ingredients, food production and nutrition benefits, as well as articulate a clear message about how the foods we market fit into an overall healthy eating plan.
Interested in discussing further? Talk to Current at jseyler@talktocurrent.com.
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