CHICAGO—More consumers are checking food labels for calorie counts and sodium levels than they were one year ago, according to United Soybean Board’s 17th annual “Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition; Insights into nutrition, health and soyfoods” survey, as reported by BakingBusiness.com. The survey, released at Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) annual meeting and food expo in Chicago, found shoppers are just as likely to avoid trans fats as they were a year ago.
The Nutrition Facts Panel is becoming increasingly important, as 91 percent of responders say they use it to decide which products to purchase, according to BakingBusiness.com. Last year, 88 percent said they did so. When looking at the nutrition facts, calories ranked as the most important, as 20 percent said it was the top concern, up from 16 percent in 2009. Sodium is the next ranked concern (11 percent) followed by total fat (9 percent); sugar (8 percent) and trans fat, carbohydrates, saturated fat and calories from fat (7 percent each).
One-fifth (21 percent) said they would not eat food with trans fat, up from 9 percent in 2008, and 2 percent in 2006. But they do like the fat in olive oil, as BakingBusiness.com reported 89 percent of consumers say it is healthy. Following olive were flaxseed oil (72 percent), canola oil (70 percent), soybean oil (69 percent), sunflower oil (65 percent) and safflower oil (60 percent).
Most responders (84 percent) also view soy products as healthy. Specifically, they think soy is good for the heart (25 percent, up from 18 percent in 2009). They also reported soy is low in fat (17 percent), a good source of protein (16 percent), “good for you” (14 percent) and lowers cholesterol (10 percent).