Culinology - March 2012 - (Page 49)

PETITS FOURS Nutrition labels confuse consumers Consumers around the world have difficulty understanding nutrition labels on food packaging and many consider themselves to be overweight, according to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Co., New York. “Consumers around the world have healthy eating on their minds, and consumer packaged goods marketers have an opportunity to help,” said James Russo, vice-president of global consumer insights for Nielsen. “Consumer-friendly nutritional labeling can be a powerful marketing tool as consumers are hungry for easy-to-understand information.” A Nielsen survey of 25,000 respondents in 56 countries showed that about half of consumers are trying to lose weight and of those, 78% are trying to lose weight through dieting. At the same time, 59% of consumers have difficulty understanding nutrition facts on food packaging with 52% understanding labels “in part.” In addition, 41% “mostly” understand nutrition labels, and 7% said they do not understand nutrition labels at all. North American consumers had the most confidence in understanding labels with 57% saying they mostly understand the information. Specifically, 58% of US respondents said they mostly understand the information. Nielsen also found skepticism about the believability of health claims such as “low fat” and “all natural.” More than two-thirds of global respondents said they believe nutritional claims are either never or only sometimes trustworthy. Calorie count claims are the most trusted claim with 33% saying the claims are always accurate and 58% saying they are sometimes accurate. Only 15% of respondents said more ambiguous claims such as “freshness” and “heart-healthy” are always accurate with 80% saying they are never or only sometimes believable claims. Undeclared allergens are leading cause of recalls Food recalls across the US increased 50% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and affected more than 80% more units compared with the previous three-month period, according to the quarterly ExpertRecall index published by Stericycle ExpertRecall. Conversely, the index found that consumer product, pharmaceutical and medical device recalls decreased compared with previous quarters. Undeclared allergens remained the leading factor in initiating food recalls, accounting for more than a third of food recalls in the quarter, according to the index, while concerns about Listeria contamination were the second-leading cause of fourth-quarter recalls, accounting for almost 20% of all food recalls listed on the Food and Drug Administration’s website from October through December. Authenticity considered a key ingredient in ethnic fare Consumers are becoming more selective when choosing ethnic foods, according to the market research firm Mintel International Ltd., Chicago. Two-thirds of the consumers who eat ethnic foods at home told Mintel that the most important characteristics are authenticity and traditional flavors when buying ethnic food. “This interest in genuine ethnic fare aligns with a broader consumer trend, the real thing, where we see consumers continually set a higher bar for what they consider authentic,” said Alexandra Smith, director of consumer trends for Mintel. “Today’s American has much greater exposure to diverse cultures than an American 20 years ago. And as once-exotic things like sushi or yoga become mainstream, we seek new, more niche markers of cultural authenticity.” When making ethnic fare at home, 70% of survey respondents said they had made Italian food in the past 30 days. However, Italian food has become so common place in the US, it is hardly considered ethnic anymore. Nearly two-thirds of people have made Mexican food, followed by 46% who cooked a Chinese meal. Twenty-nine percent of home cooks felt like one type of ethnic cuisine wasn’t enough and decided to go “fusion,” mixing elements from various culinary traditions while not fitting specifically into any. MARCH 2012 | Culinology | 49

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Culinology - March 2012

Culinology - March 2012
Table of Contents
President's Letter - Preparing for a brighter economic future
Upcoming Events
EmergingTrends - Trendy Fats
Emerging Trends - Hispanic culture affecting breakfast, dinner trends
Member Profile - Garden of Eaten
Consumer Trends - The power of perception
Dairy Trends - Dairy ingredient innovation
Flavor Trends - Emerging flavor profiles
Commodity Outlook - Input costs outlook
Packaging - Improving product integrity
Petits Fours
Ad Index

Culinology - March 2012