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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IFIC CEO Joseph Clayton to Step Down in Early 2023

(Washington, D.C.)— International Food Information Council (IFIC) announced today that Chief Executive Officer Joseph Clayton will step down after six-and-a-half years leading the nonprofit science communications and consumer research organization. Since 1985, IFIC has promoted evidence-based information on nutrition, food safety and agricultural production to consumers and health professionals while conducting a decades-long series of consumer research programs at the intersection of food, health and consumer perception. “Over the last six years, Joe has built strong IFIC communications and education programs that have increased the visibility of evidence and science-based information about food, diet and health,” said IFIC Co-Chair Russell Dyer, Chief Communications Officer and Head of Public and Government Affairs at Mondelēz International. “He leaves an extremely capable staff of experts in nutrition, food production and science communications that will serve IFIC well as we conduct a search for a new CEO.” “IFIC’s consumer research programs expanded and sharpened significantly under Joe’s leadership and have enabled IFIC to become an authoritative source on how Americans understand the role of food and diet in their health,” said Regan Bailey, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture at Texas A&M University. “IFIC’s research informs government, industry and academia on consumer attitudes and knowledge gaps in food and health, information that is lacking and desperately needed for both public education and policy making.” “It’s been a special six years and a privilege to help advance IFIC’s mission and programs,” said Clayton. “We’ve taken major steps to expand IFIC’s reach as a source of evidence-based information about food and strengthen our research agenda to better understand how consumers approach decisions at the intersection of food and health. IFIC is more prepared than ever to promote actionable, science-based food information.” A Search Committee comprised of private sector and public academic sector […]

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Sweet Insights: International Food Information Council Releases New Research Examining Evolving Consumer Sentiment On Low- & No-Calorie Sweeteners

(Washington, D.C.) — As global health authorities have offered conflicting guidance on low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) in recent years, a new survey from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) reveals evolving American attitudes. The IFIC Spotlight Survey: American Perceptions of Sweeteners in Foods and Beverages, conducted in April 2024, highlights current preferences, awareness, and sentiments toward caloric and non-caloric sweeteners, sugar alcohols, and rare sugars such as allulose.  “This IFIC Spotlight Survey is unique as it serves to follow up on surveys we previously conducted in 2023 and 2021,” explains IFIC President & CEO Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN. “Since we last surveyed Americans on sweeteners in April 2023, there have been significant updates to low- and no-calorie sweetener dietary guidance outside the U.S., potentially impacting American consumer attitudes and preferences.”  In May and July 2023, scientific evaluations of low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) from three bodies within the World Health Organization (WHO) were released by the Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the WHO/FAO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives.   “These reports received global media attention for their conflicting results and ensuing mixed messages,” Reinhardt Kapsak said. “Not only did we want to deepen our insights with this recent survey, but we wanted to see if these European evaluations moved the needle on American perceptions and behaviors, and if so, how.”   American Sweetener Shake-Up Or Consumer Sentiments Settled?   According to the IFIC survey, one-third of Americans (33%) reported changing their LNCS consumption habit between April 2023 and April 2024. While 10% said they increased LNCS consumption and 6% said they started consuming LNCS, 11% said they decreased LNCS consumption and 6% said they stopped consuming LNCS altogether. Another 34% reported making no changes to their LNCS consumption, and 30% reported not […]

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A Useful Guide to Understanding GMOs

As food producers aim to provide a secure and reliable supply of food for the growing public, food biotechnology advances are evolving fast. Genetically modified food resources are helping farmers, food manufacturers, and companies produce safe, healthy, great-tasting and environmentally-friendly foods. However, understanding how these foods are created, how they end up on our plates, and the science behind the ingredients can be confusing. Below we have some insightful resources to help you understand how GMOs are shaping our food supply. Food Biotechnology: A Communicator’s Guide to Improving Understanding Food Biotechnology: A Communicator’s Guide to Improving Understanding is your one-stop resource for preparing for presentations, patient and client questions, health fairs, media interviews, blogging, tweeting, and other community conversations around biotechnology and GMOs. GMO-Free Milk: Is There Really Such a Thing? Modern food production uses various technologies to ensure that our food supply yields safe and environmentally friendly foods. “Genetically engineered” foods, also known as “genetically modified” foods or GMOs, are safe for consumption, and this has been proven repeatedly by scientific research. So what do package labels such as “GMO-free” and “Non-GMO” really mean? Science Sent: GMOs Are Safe to Eat For years, the debate over the safety of genetically engineered crops (or genetically modified organisms or GMOS) has come down to one statement: the science isn’t there. According to a report published yesterday by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), there is no difference in potential or adverse health effects in GMO crops compared to non-GMOs. In other words, GMO crops are as safe to eat as their non-GMO counterparts. No Matter the Food, Ingredients Produced with Biotechnology Are As Safe As “Non-GMO” The International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation would like to correct media reports raising concerns about infant formula containing ingredients produced using biotechnology (also referred […]

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Gut Check: Fermented Foods and the Microbiome

We’re back again with another edition of Gut Check, our series on the relationship between food and the gut microbiome. So far, we’ve taken a closer look at how whole grains and fiber affect our gut microbes. Today we’re exploring a popular topic: fermented foods. Just a few years ago, a search for foods like miso, kimchi and kefir would have led us to a specialty store or a crunchy granola food co-op. These days, they’re on shelves in most grocery stores and are commonplace in farmers markets across the country. From the acidic hit of sauerkraut to the cooling tang of yogurt and the fizzy, sweet-and-sour flavor of kombucha, fermented foods offer a wide range of taste and health attributes that have been sought after for thousands of years. Not yet equipped with microscopes and modern technology, our ancestors may not have known that microbes like bacteria and yeasts were responsible for making these foods and beverages. However, based on what we now know about their microbial content, fermentation has been caught up in a probiotics-fueled health food frenzy. But just because a food is fermented, does that automatically make it a probiotic? Exactly what are the health benefits of fermented foods? Let’s take a closer look. How are fermented foods made? Fermentation is typically an anaerobic process (meaning that it happens without oxygen) in which bacteria or yeasts convert sugars in food to other compounds like alcohol or organic acids, while also producing energy for themselves. Usually, the end product is either alcohol or lactic acid. Microbes that convert sugars to alcohol are responsible for beer and wine; those that make lactic acid give foods like yogurt, sour cream, miso, kimchi, sauerkraut and some pickles the tangy flavors we know and love. Different foods and drinks are made […]

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Are Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners Safe?

Low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) provide sweetness to foods and beverages without the added calories contained in sugar. LNCS have a long history of safe use and are some of the most studied ingredients in the history of our food supply. Yet they are also among the most scrutinized. Debate often ensues about the safety and health implications of consuming LNCS—sometimes because of valid scientific inquiry, but mostly due to incorrect or misleading information. This article addresses and helps clarify some of the conflicting information you may come across online. For more in-depth information about the safety of LNCS and how our bodies process them after consumption, check out our free one-hour webinar. Who approves the use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners in the U.S.? U.S. law requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the use of food additives, including LNCS such as aspartame and sucralose, before they are authorized for use in foods and beverages. For the review of other food ingredients such as stevia and monk fruit sweeteners, the FDA uses its Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) notification program. A GRAS determination does not require pre-market approval by the FDA but does require FDA to scientifically evaluate and publicly respond to submissions made to the agency that supports an ingredient’s safety. Despite our government’s long-standing oversight authority, uncertainty remains among some Americans about how LNCS are regulated in the U.S. In the IFIC 2023 Food & Health Survey, 20% of respondents said they were unsure who was responsible for approving the use of LNCS. There are nine types of LNCS permitted by the FDA for use in foods and beverages: LNCS are also independently evaluated and carefully regulated by international authorities such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on […]

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Servings Sizes and Portion Sizes: Making Smaller Sizes the New Normal Again

It may be hard to imagine in today’s information age, but nutrition labels were not always displayed on packaged foods and beverages. The first Nutrition Facts label appeared on packages in May 1994, a few years after the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act was signed into law. The first update to the Nutrition Facts label since its inception was finalized in 2016, and it is this revised version that we see on most food and beverage packages today. Although official serving sizes appeared on the original label, individual portion sizes can differ from serving sizes, and confusion remains about the difference between the two. Let’s clarify those differences and trace how serving and portion sizes have changed through the years, how each is determined, and why each is important for our health. Serving size vs. portion size: What’s the difference? It’s easy to confuse serving sizes with portion sizes. They are sometimes used interchangeably, but they can represent different things. As we wrote in an earlier article, serving sizes listed on food labels are not advice for how much to eat; they are the amount that is used to calculate information on the Nutrition Facts label. Serving sizes displayed on the Nutrition Facts label are required by law to be based on the amount of a food or beverage that people typically consume during one eating or drinking occasion. These amounts are also known as Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACC). Portion sizes are not regulated by the government but often come in the form of advice from nutrition professionals. Ultimately, portion size is the amount of a food or beverage that you choose to consume. These choices can be influenced by multiple factors, including: How serving and portion sizes have changed Both serving sizes and portion sizes have grown in […]

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Unwrapping Our Chocolate: Cocoa Processing Insights

Chocolate can be enjoyed in many ways—as a treat, as part of a snack or as a flavoring for beverages— and has been for many years. In fact, cocoa foods and beverages made from beans from the Theobroma cacao tree have been consumed by humans as early as 460 CE, and for years cocoa consumption has been associated with positive health benefits, such as anti-inflammatory properties. Cocoa is a functional food, is an antioxidant and is naturally rich in flavonoids. However, before you scarf down all the chocolate you can get your hands on, note that the caveat of consuming chocolate for its health benefits is the requirement that the cocoa contains an effective dose of active health-benefitting components and a reduced amount of sugar. Many chocolate lovers may want to know a bit more about how our indulgent friend starts from a tree and ends up in nicely wrapped foil packaging or a chocolate milk carton. Cocoa farmers at work Cocoa largely originates from three global regions—Southeast Asia, Latin America and West Africa. There are over 5 million cocoa farmers who rely on the cocoa bean for their livelihoods, and 70% of the world’s cocoa beans (about 2.6 million tons of cocoa produced annually) come from four West African countries: the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. The Ivory Coast and Ghana are the two largest producers of cocoa (they source more than half the world´s cocoa). Over 3.5 million tons of cocoa beans are used annually around the globe to manufacture many food and beverage products. Cocoa farmers use sustainable farming practices that not only help conserve natural resources, but also help ensure the livelihoods of the people that work in the farming supply chains and the related surrounding communities where cocoa is grown. Farming cocoa still often […]

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