IFIC Spotlight Survey: Consumer Perspectives On Vitamins, Minerals, And Food & Beverage Fortification
April 8, 2021
Research Type
Topics
It’s long been recognized that vitamins and minerals play essential roles in human health. But despite this appreciation, do people actually take them into consideration when making daily choices about what they eat and drink? If so, which vitamins and minerals do people seek out? And where do they look for this information when grocery shopping? In addition to finding the answers to these questions, this survey aimed to find out how people perceive the process of fortification (one method of adding vitamins and minerals to foods and beverages).
The International Food Information Council (IFIC) commissioned an online research survey with consumers based in the US to measure knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about vitamins and minerals. One thousand adults aged 18+ years completed the survey from March 4-8, 2021, and responses were weighted to ensure proportional results.
Key findings include:
- When deciding what to eat or drink each day, the majority of people say they consider the presence of specific vitamins and minerals at least sometimes. About one in five say they always keep them in consideration.
- Vitamins D and C have been most frequently sought after by survey takers. The strongest motivators for seeking out specific vitamins and minerals cited by respondents are general health/wellness and immune health.
- When shopping for foods, beverages and/or dietary supplements, the Nutrition Facts label and front-of-package labels are the top sources of information for the vitamin and/or mineral content in products. Digital information sources were not nearly as popular.
- Most have heard of the term “fortification,” but only a quarter of those people know at least a fair amount about it.
- Of those who have heard of fortification, most believe that fortified foods or beverages are convenient, safe and can have health benefits.