Consumer Confidence in Food Safety Declines

Consumer confidence in the safety of foods and beverages sold in the U.S. has dropped over the past five years according to Multi-sponsor Surveys' Study of Clean Food & Beverage Labels.  In this survey conducted in May/June 2013 among a national sample of 2,100 adults, one in six express a "great deal" of confidence in food safety.  By comparison, in 2008 approximately one in four adults expressed a "great deal" of confidence. The safety of imported foods is now the most pressing concern, followed by concerns about:

Efforts to consume fresh, unprocessed foods have increased over the same time span that confidence in food safety declined. Since 2008 the percentage of adults who strongly agree they "make a strong effort to consume fresh foods instead of processed foods" increased from 24% to 32%. Many are trying to eat both the cleanest and safest foods they can find. Other findings include:

According to Karen Bundy, V.P. at Multi-sponsor Surveys, "Our recent Clean Label study found Millennials more attracted to clean labels such as 'all natural,' 'organic,' 'gluten-free,' free-range,' and 'hormone-free,' than baby boomers or older adults who are more focused on sugar, sodium and whole grains."