New research has indicated that almost half of Australian consumers are choosing ‘natural’ foods where possible, with animal products that contain antibiotics or hormones causing the most concern.
Findings from Nielsen’s Global Health and Ingredient-Sentiment Survey highlights that consumers are increasingly on the lookout for meals with simple ingredients and fewer artificial or processed ingredients.
Michael Elam-Rye, associate director – retail at Nielsen said “Informed and savvy consumers are demanding more from the foods they eat and are happy to pay more if they believe it is better for them. This presents an opportunity for food manufacturers to increase share by offering and marketing products that are formulated with good-for-you ingredients, and an opportunity for retailers to trade consumers up with more premium priced products.”
For Australian consumers, animal products that contain antibiotics or hormones are the most worrying, with six in 10 consumers saying that they actively avoid these products.
Close to nine in 10 respondents said they avoid specific ingredients because they believe them to be harmful, while six in 10 consumers said they’re concerned about the long-term health impact of artificial ingredients in their diet.
The top 10 ingredients that Australian consumers avoid are:
- Antibiotics/hormones in animals products
- MSG
- Artificial preservatives
- Artificial flavours
- Artificial sweeteners
- Foods with BPA packaging
- Artificial colours
- Sugar
- Genetically modified foods
- Sodium
The Nielsen Global Health and Ingredient-Sentiment Survey was conducted March 1-23, 2016, and polled more than 30,000 online consumers in 63 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East/Africa and North America.
For more details on the survey, click here.