2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey: A Focus On Food & Ingredient Safety

This year’s Food & Health Survey marks the 20th consecutive year that the International Food Information Council (IFIC) has surveyed American consumers to understand perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors surrounding food and food-purchasing decisions. In addition to exploring new perspectives, the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey takes a retrospective look at how perceptions have evolved over the last two decades. About the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey To mark the 20th anniversary of the IFIC Food & Health Survey, IFIC is implementing a rolling release throughout the rest of the year. That means we are taking salient insights from the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey, for one topic-related release each month. This report focuses on food and ingredient safety data. 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey​ Research Methodology IFIC commissions this survey annually among U.S. consumers (n=3000), with 2025 marking the 20th consecutive year of the IFIC Food & Health Survey. Results were weighted to ensure that they are reflective of the American population ages 18 to 80, as seen in the 2024 Current Population Survey. Specifically, results were weighted by age, education, gender, race/ethnicity, and region. The 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey was fielded from March 13-27, 2025.

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2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey: A Focus On Food & Nutrition

This year’s Food & Health Survey marks the 20th consecutive year that the International Food Information Council (IFIC) has surveyed American consumers to understand perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors surrounding food and food-purchasing decisions. In addition to exploring new perspectives, the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey takes a retrospective look at how perceptions have evolved over the last two decades. About the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey To mark the 20th anniversary of the IFIC Food & Health Survey, IFIC is implementing a rolling release throughout the rest of the year. That means we are taking salient insights from the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey, for one topic-related release each month. This report focuses on food and nutrition data. 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey​ Research Methodology IFIC commissions this survey annually among U.S. consumers (n=3000), with 2025 marking the 20th consecutive year of the IFIC Food & Health Survey. Results were weighted to ensure that they are reflective of the American population ages 18 to 80, as seen in the 2024 Current Population Survey. Specifically, results were weighted by age, education, gender, race/ethnicity, and region. The 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey was fielded from March 13-27, 2025.

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2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey: A Focus On Food Production

This year’s Food & Health Survey marks the 20th consecutive year that the International Food Information Council (IFIC) has surveyed American consumers to understand perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors surrounding food and food-purchasing decisions. In addition to exploring new perspectives, the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey takes a retrospective look at how perceptions have evolved over the last two decades. About the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey To mark the 20th anniversary of the IFIC Food & Health Survey, IFIC is implementing a rolling release throughout the rest of the year. That means we are taking salient insights from the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey, for one topic-related release each month. This report focuses on food and nutrition data. 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey​ Research Methodology IFIC commissions this survey annually among U.S. consumers (n=3000), with 2025 marking the 20th consecutive year of the IFIC Food & Health Survey. Results were weighted to ensure that they are reflective of the American population ages 18 to 80, as seen in the 2024 Current Population Survey. Specifically, results were weighted by age, education, gender, race/ethnicity, and region. The 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey was fielded from March 13-27, 2025.

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2012 IFIC Food & Health Survey

The 2012 Food & Health Survey: Consumer Attitudes toward Food Safety, Nutrition & Health, commissioned by the International Food Information Council Foundation, is the seventh annual national quantitative study designed to gain insights from Americans on important food safety, nutrition, and health-related topics. The research provides the opportunity to gain insight on how Americans view their own diets, their efforts to improve them, how they balance diet and exercise, and their beliefs and behaviors when it comes to food safety. Americans are interested in food and health related issues, with nearly all saying that they have given at least a little thought to the healthfulness of their diet, physical activity, and the safety of their food. In an environment where media reports are constantly highlighting concern over the “obesity epidemic” and seemingly contradictory news stories tout and condemn various nutrients, many consumers acknowledge that it can be hard to know what to believe. This could explain why over half of Americans believe it is easier to figure out their income taxes than to figure out what they should and shouldn’t eat to be healthier. While Americans find it difficult to know what to believe about ever-changing nutrition information, nearly all are trying to improve at least one of their eating habits. They are considering calories and various dietary components (such as whole grains, fiber, sugars, salt and fat) when making food purchasing decisions, and many cite weight management and other health factors as the reason why they consider these components. It’s important to note, however, that taste continues to be the most important factor when it comes to purchasing decisions, with price coming in second and healthfulness as the third most important factor when making food purchasing decisions. The International Food Information Council Foundation 2012 Food & Health Survey was […]

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2022 IFIC Food & Health Survey Spotlight: Eating Patterns

The 2022 Food and Health Survey marks the 17th consecutive year the International Food Information Council (IFIC) has surveyed Americans to understand their perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors surrounding food and food-purchasing decisions. This year’s survey continues an examination of issues related to personal health, nutrition, eating patterns, food production, and food safety. In this article, we’re taking a closer look at the findings related to food behaviors—including snacking, mindful eating, and specific diets and eating patterns. SNACKING In this year’s survey, 73% of consumers report snacking at least once a day, an increase from the 58% who said the same in 2021. The top reasons for snacking remain consistent with previous results: Of those who snack at some point during the week (96%), 34% say it is because they are hungry or thirsty, and one in four (25%) say snacks are a treat for them. This year, the number of people saying they snack because they need energy or because it’s a habit rose compared with 2021 (22% vs. 17% and 21% vs. 17% in 2021, respectively). Men, Millennials, and Gen Z are more likely to eat meals and snacks during the late evening and late night when compared with women and older generations. Additionally, the types of snacks consumed vary by time of day, with fruit reported as the most popular morning snack (followed by dairy products and nutrition bars). In contrast, in the evening and late-night hours, people most commonly gravitate toward savory and salty snacks, candy, and chocolate or other treats, as well as cookies, cake, or ice cream. This year’s survey also assessed stress levels and found an interesting relationship between stress and snacking. Over half of consumers (56%) reported feeling at least somewhat stressed in the last six months, and those who felt “very” stressed […]

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Food Allergies with David Stukus [Podcast]

According to experts, advocates and the CDC, food allergies are a public health concern and are seemingly on the rise.  But what might be the cause? Have social media and the internet fooled too many of us into thinking we’re qualified to diagnose ourselves? On this edition of DataDish: Your Trusted Serving of Science, Dave Stukus, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, sheds some light on these and other questions about food allergies and allergen management. Here are a few podcast highlights: As food allergies become more prevalent over time, you will likely know someone living with a food allergy.  We hope this podcast helps you better understand how this issue affects them and the 15 million Americans dealing with food allergies every day.

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Recalls, Allergens and Bacteria. Oh My! [Podcast]

Foodborne illness outbreaks and food recalls can cause many of us to think twice about what to buy in our local grocery stores and restaurants. While the United States has one of the safest food systems in the world, it appears as though our food is not without flaws. If you want to understand better how food recalls happen, how our food system is regulated, and what does the future hold for our food system, read on. In this edition of DataDish, we will talk with Dr. Ben Chapman, who is an associate professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. Dr. Chapman received his doctorate in plant agriculture in 2009 from the University of Guelph. Notably, Dr. Chapman’s research group designs, implements and evaluates the effectiveness of food safety strategies and messages among consumers. Some highlights from our conversation include:

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Food Is Not One Size Fits All

One of the most important sections in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) is Chapter 5, which describes how to put together all the foods we need to reach our nutritional goals. We are told to follow a “healthy eating pattern” that is not a rigid prescription, but a flexible plan that can accommodate our personal food preferences within the framework of our socio-cultural and ethnic eating traditions. That means all Americans do not have to eat the same foods to have healthy diets, but rather, that there are an infinite number of possible food combinations that allow each of us to meet our nutritional needs over time. The Danger of Food Lists Advances in food science have helped us understand the individual components that make up our food, while research in human nutrition has uncovered how much of each nutrient and other food components we need to support growth and prevent disease at different stages of life. This has led some people to believe they can reduce all that we know about our nutritional needs and food composition into top 10 lists of the best foods to eat and to avoid. One problem with these lists is they can’t keep up with the continuing expansion of our knowledge about food and nutrition, and they certainly don’t leave room for personal food preferences. Another risk to over-simplifying dietary advice into “do’s and don’ts” lists is the unintended consequences of eliminating a food due to a single attribute, then losing all of its other benefits. Good Nutrition Is the Sum of its Parts For example, some of these lists have erroneously led people to believe they should eat more blueberries and less beef to improve their health. What they overlook is that many colorful, seasonal fruits are a rich source […]

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