Here’s why U.S. consumers are demanding clarity

Poor labeling will not get grocery retailers more sales, just more questions.

New research by Spoon Guru has found that 33 percent of Americans who have accidentally purchased food that does not align to their dietary requirements do so on a weekly basis - of which 49 percent said it was due to poor labeling.

The research revealed a staggering 76 percent of US consumers have unintentionally consumed food restricted from their diet, with the number one reason being that over half of respondents (52 percent) have been served the wrong food as an error by waiting staff in bars and restaurants. Meanwhile, 37 percent listed poor food labeling as the second most common reason for purchasing incorrect products.

The worst affected were Vegans, with 45 percent saying they suffer the most from vague or non-existent ingredients labeling when trying to find the right food. Analyzing how female consumers fair against males, the data revealed that a third of men (34 percent) made errors when there was no product labels whereas only a quarter of females (25 percent) made the same mistake.

“With an increase of US consumers adopting exclusion diets, whether due to an allergy or intolerance or simply just a lifestyle choice, there is a clear need to make food discovery much more inclusive,” said Markus Stripf, CEO and co-founder of Spoon Guru. “The study found there is overwhelming support (86 percent) for the idea that retailers should go above and beyond the current regulations to improve ingredient clarity, and the general feeling among US consumers is for on-trade and off-trade retailers to take more accountability where food labeling is concerned.”