Public Confidence in U.S. Food Safety Declines Amid Concerns About Food Ingredients & Recalls, New IFIC Research Reveals 

(Washington, D.C.) — In an era of growing public scrutiny over what is in our food and how safe it is to consume, new data from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) reveals a striking gap between confidence in the safety of the foods and beverages they buy and trust in the safety of the broader U.S. food supply. As consumer concerns evolve, two new IFIC Spotlight Surveys provide a window into how Americans perceive food ingredient safety and food recalls, and what those perceptions mean for the future of food safety communication.   According to the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey, just 55% of Americans express confidence in the safety of the U.S. food supply—marking a historic low. Despite this, according to the newly released IFIC Spotlight Survey: Americans’ Perceptions Of The U.S. FDA GRAS Program, 72% are confident in the safety of ingredients in the foods and beverages they purchase. This contrast highlights an important disconnect: Americans feel more secure about the safety of what they choose for themselves than they do about the safety of the food supply overall.  “Trust in our food supply cannot be taken for granted—it must be continually earned,” said IFIC President & CEO Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN. “With growing consumer demand for transparency and accountability in how food is produced and regulated, we have a real opportunity to improve how we communicate about safety, from ingredients to recalls. With September marking National Food Safety Education Month, there’s no better time to elevate this conversation.”  A Spotlight On Food Ingredients  One area of concern for Americans is food ingredients and additives, especially how they are regulated. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees roughly 80% of the national food supply, including through its Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) program, which allows […]

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Fast Take: The EAT-Lancet Report on Sustainable Diets

Key Highlights Report states that feeding 10 billion people by the year 2050 with a healthy and sustainable diet will be impossible without changing eating habits, improving food production and reducing food waste. There are some similarities between the current US Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the EAT-Lancet Report’s diet recommendations. However, they differ in their recommendation on the consumption of sugars, red meat and dairy notably. While this report calls for further sustainable food production practices, consumers should not overlook the environmentally focused techniques that are currently employed to produce a wide variety of healthy foods across the globe with natural resource conservation in mind. Feeding our ever-growing population will take the diligent work of many farmers and food producers. As we ponder how much food needs to be produced to feed us all, should we also consider the ecological demands that food production takes? Many of us do. This week, a globally represented group of scientists released a report on this topic. The EAT-Lancet Commission released the “Healthy Diets From Sustainable Food Systems” report showcasing new dietary recommendations focused on enhanced plant-based food consumption to increase the health of our populations. The report also issues advice on altering food production practices to be more environmentally sustainable and increase the health of our planet. What is the EAT-Lancet Commission? EAT is a global non-profit that aims to connect science, policy, business and society to achieve their mission of transforming the global food system through sustainable diet and agricultural production practices. Their primary goal is “to achieve planetary health diets for nearly 10 billion people by 2050.” What Nutrition Recommendations Are in The Report? Let’s take a closer look at what the report recommends and how it compares to another well-known set of evidence-based dietary recommendations: The current US Dietary […]

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Everything You Need to Know About Sucralose

Download the Sucralose Fact Sheet for Consumers here Download the Sucralose Face Sheet for Health Professionals here WHAT IS SUCRALOSE? Sucralose is a no-calorie sweetener that can be used to lower one’s intake of added sugars while still providing satisfaction from enjoying the taste of something sweet. While some types of sweeteners in this category are considered low-calorie (e.g., aspartame) and others are no-calorie (e.g., sucralose, monk fruit sweeteners and stevia sweeteners), collectively they are often referred to as sugar substitutes, high-intensity sweeteners, nonnutritive sweeteners or low-calorie sweeteners. Like other no-calorie sweeteners, sucralose is intensely sweet. It is about 600 times sweeter than sugar, so only small amounts of sucralose are used to match the sweetness provided by sugar. Sucralose is permitted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a general-purpose sweetener, meaning it can be used as an ingredient in any type of food or beverage. Sucralose is exceptionally stable, so foods and beverages sweetened with sucralose stay sweet under a wide range of conditions. This includes frozen foods like ice cream and other frozen desserts, as well as foods that need to be heated to high temperatures, like baked goods and foods that require sterilization. However, a recipe that uses sucralose in place of sugar may turn out slightly different because, in addition to sweetness, sugar plays several roles related to volume and texture in recipes but varies based on the type of recipe. Sucralose is also used in tabletop sweeteners. There are numerous brands of sucralose-based tabletop sweeteners. The most common brand in the U.S. is Splenda® Original. HOW IS SUCRALOSE PRODUCED? Sucralose is made from a process that begins with regular table sugar (sucrose); however, sucralose is not sugar. Three select hydroxyl groups on the sucrose molecule are replaced with three chlorine […]

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Healthy Eating During Pregnancy

A healthy eating pattern is very important during pregnancy. Good nutrition plays a key role in the health of both mother and baby. As a mom-to-be, you have higher nutrient needs than you did before conception. Yet the general principles of good nutrition—variety, balance, and moderation—still apply during pregnancy. This resource will help you learn how to eat healthy during pregnancy. This includes how to choose a variety of healthy foods, maintain healthy weight gain during pregnancy, and stay food-safe.   Click here to download   A Balanced Diet—What a Mom-to-Be Needs Eating a balanced diet before, during, and after pregnancy is one part of good health. This section covers the key nutrients pregnant women need and where to find them. Calories Calorie (aka energy for the body) needs increase during pregnancy. But “eating for two” only requires an additional 340 calories during the second trimester and 500 calories in the third trimester. The first trimester does not require any extra calories. Choose foods and beverages that are “nutrient-dense”. This means that they good sources of the building blocks your body needs. Nutrient-dense foods are full of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Eat variety of foods from all five food groups. These include grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and meat and beans. This will ensure that you and your growing baby are getting the nutrients you both need. Your nutrient and calorie needs are higher if you are carrying more than one baby. Discuss what and how much to eat with your health care provider.  Key Nutrients   Protein Protein helps maintain muscle and body tissue. It is also key for a baby’s growth – especially during the second and third trimesters. Most pregnant women should take in about 70 grams of protein every day to meet their minimum needs. Keep […]

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2021 Food & Health Survey: Pandemic Food Habits Start to Wane While Positive Approaches to Diet and Health Grow

(Washington, D.C.)—More than one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans are beginning to experience a taste of what post-pandemic life might look like as their shopping and eating habits return to their pre-pandemic patterns. At the same time, there are alarming signs of inequalities and disparities within our food system. These are among the findings of the 2021 Food & Health Survey, conducted every year since 2006 by the International Food Information Council (IFIC). “After more than a year of tremendous upheaval caused by a historic pandemic, Americans are craving stability and a return to normalcy when it comes to their food decisions,” said Joseph Clayton, CEO of IFIC. “The 2021 Food & Health Survey reflects those desires, but it also provides evidence of trends from during and before the pandemic that are proving to be more durable. This year’s survey also offers interesting new insights into consumers’ feelings about their communities, as well as their obligations to the environment.” Starting to Find a Sense of Normalcy IFIC has undertaken intensive consumer research on the effects of the pandemic since its earliest days. Last year’s Food & Health Survey, which was conducted in April 2020, revealed dramatic changes in how we ate, prepared and shopped for foods as a result of COVID-19. This year’s Food & Health Survey shows that many of those changes have begun to subside. For instance, 85% of Americans a year ago reported having experienced some change to their eating or food preparation habits because of the pandemic. In the 2021 Food & Health Survey, however, that number fell to 72%. The survey also found significant decreases—sometimes by as much as half—in behaviors that had changed because of the pandemic. One year ago, 60% of consumers said they were cooking at home more than usual; this year, that number fell to 47%. Similarly, the number of Americans […]

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The International Food Information Council (IFIC) Releases Annual Food & Health Survey Revealing Rising Consumer Stress, Lagging Consumer Confidence In The U.S. Food Supply

(Washington, D.C.) —The International Food Information Council (IFIC) released its 2024 Food & Health Survey today, revealing the perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors that influence Americans’ food and beverage decisions. This iteration marks the 19th consecutive year that IFIC conducted its signature consumer survey.    The 2024 IFIC Food & Health Survey covers a wide range of topics from farm to fork, including food production, food safety, eating patterns and diets, specific food or beverage ingredients as well as consumers’ relationship with food, purchase drivers, and trust in information sources. Newer to the survey this year are questions regarding medication and lifestyle choices, ultraprocessed foods, and artificial intelligence.   “The 2024 IFIC Food & Health Survey is a comprehensive snapshot of the complex factors that shape Americans’ food and beverage decisions,” said Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, IFIC President and CEO. “We tripled our sample size this year, allowing for greater exploration of Americans’ food beliefs and behaviors than in previous IFIC surveys. This approach not only gives us deeper insights, but also demonstrates our commitment to evolving our research platform to align with America’s population trends.”   Rising Consumer Stress & Food Cost Likely Impact Food Decisions   It is clear to consumers that the cost of everything has risen in recent years — including what we eat and drink. In fact, 9 in 10 (90%) say they have noticed an increase in the price of food and beverages. This recognition is up significantly from 83% in 2022.   “Examining the awareness of increased cost by generation reveals a fascinating finding: Each generation has noticed the increased costs significantly more than the generation(s) younger than them,” stated Kris Sollid, RD, Senior Director, Research & Consumer Insights at IFIC. “In other words, more Baby Boomers have noticed the rising costs compared with every other generation. More […]

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COVID-19 and Food Safety Concerns: Results from the 2020 Food and Health Survey

Food safety concerns have been a major topic in the public conversation around COVID-19, alongside issues like the coronavirus and shopping, the coronavirus and the food supply, and the coronavirus and food deliveries. Our 2020 Food and Health Survey, which was fielded in mid-April, dug deeper into Americans’ perceptions of food safety during this unpredictable time. Here are some of the key findings. Food safety concerns during COVID-19 Food safety issues have long been a topic of interest in the Food and Health Survey, and this year our questions took on additional meaning in the context of COVID-19. For several years running, we have asked survey takers, “What, in your opinion, are the top food safety issues today?” This year, we included a new answer option: “Food handling/food preparation related to risk of COVID-19,” stemming from consumer concerns and media coverage surrounding COVID-19 exposure risk related to food and its preparation. This new option rose to the top spot for consumer food safety concerns this year, with 24% of survey takers ranking it as their number-one issue. Another 18% said that it was one of their top three concerns, landing it as the second-most important overall issue, behind foodborne illness from bacteria (which 20% ranked as number one and 32% ranked as two or three). The high concern related to COVID-19 and food safety corresponded with a decline in concern over other food safety issues, including foodborne illness in bacteria, chemicals in food, carcinogens in foods and pesticides/pesticide residues on food. While it is clear that consumers are worried about COVID-19 in the context of food safety, we want to emphasize that there have been no cases of COVID-19 traced back to the food supply and that experts agree that the risk of encountering the virus on food packaging is […]

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Everything You Need to Know About Stevia Sweeteners

Download the Stevia Fact Sheet for Consumers here Download the Stevia Face Sheet for Health Professionals here WHAT ARE STEVIA SWEETENERS? Stevia sweeteners are no-calorie sweeteners that can be used to lower one’s intake of added sugars while still providing satisfaction from enjoying the taste of something sweet. While some types of sweeteners in this category are considered low-calorie (e.g., aspartame) and others are no-calorie (e.g., stevia sweeteners, monk fruit sweeteners and sucralose), collectively they are often referred to as sugar substitutes, high-intensity sweeteners, non-nutritive sweeteners or low-calorie sweeteners. Like other no-calorie sweeteners, stevia sweeteners are intensely sweet. Stevia sweeteners range from being 200-350 times sweeter than sugar, and as such only small amounts of stevia sweeteners are needed to match the sweetness provided by sugar. Stevia sweeteners can be used by food and beverage manufacturers as an ingredient in beverages (such as diet sodas, light or low-sugar juices and flavored waters), canned fruits, condiments, dairy products (such as ice cream, flavored milk and yogurt) and other foods (such as baked goods, cereals, chocolate and other confections) and syrups. Because they are stable at high temperatures, stevia sweeteners can be used in baked goods. However, a recipe that uses stevia sweeteners in place of sugar may turn out slightly different because, in addition to sweetness, sugar plays several roles related to volume and texture in recipes but varies based on the type of recipe. Stevia sweeteners are also used in several tabletop sweeteners, such as Truvia®, Pure Via®, Stevia In The Raw®, SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener, SweetLeaf® and Enliten®, as well as other retail products sold under store-brand names. HOW ARE STEVIA SWEETENERS PRODUCED? Stevia sweeteners are derived from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) plant, an herbal shrub native to South America. The stevia plant has been used […]

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