NPD: Consumers’ perception of health is shifting

Thirty-nine percent of Americans consume foods or beverages with an “all-natural” or “natural ingredients” label in an average week, states The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based information company. And consumers are more likely to consume products with natural, organic or whole-grain claims in an average week than those with a light or low-calorie label, pointing toward a shifting perception of health, finds NPD’s National Eating Trends, which continually tracks all aspects of U.S. eating behaviors.

Emerging evidence indicates that consumers are looking for foods to be in their pure form. In fact, more than 30 percent of consumers are cautious about serving foods with preservatives today, compared to 24 percent 10 years ago, and the trend for additives follows the same progression. Additionally, high-fructose corn syrup and GMOs are two of the top-growing concerns in the United States, NPD reported.

Foods labeled "natural" convey a sense of wholesomeness to consumers. On the surface, “natural” and “all natural” on a food label hints to consumers that the product is free of anything manmade, but that isn’t always the case, NPD said. Therefore, consumers have requested that the FDA explore the use of the term. 

In direct response to consumers and what the FDA stated is the “changing landscape of food ingredients and production,” the federal agency announced in mid-November that it was seeking public comments on the use of the term “natural” in food labeling, NPD said.

The FDA issued non-legally binding guidance on “natural” labeling in the 1990s that states, “nothing artificial or synthetic — including all color additives regardless of source — has been included in or added to a food that would not normally be expected to be in the food.” This guidance allows for foods or beverages with high-fructose corn syrup or GMOs, for example, to still be labeled as natural, NPD stated.

“This may make consumers wonder if a product labeled ‘natural’ but not “GMO-free” truly is ‘natural,’” said Darren Seifer, food and beverage industry analyst, NPD. “This also supports updating the ‘natural’ definition to help consumers understand what can or cannot qualify for the label.”

The current “natural” labeling guidance is in stark contrast to organic labeling, which has very specific standards set out by the USDA. Organic products must meet environmental and animal treatment standards, and they cannot include GMOs, NPD noted.

“Marketers would be wise to initiate a dialogue with consumers to assuage concerns about particular ingredients,” Seifer said.  “Education about how specific products and ingredients can fit into consumers’ daily lives also will go a long way in clearing up possible confusion about ‘natural’ foods messaging.”