Consumers are increasingly concerned about food safety and they want more answers about the foods they eat, according to results of this Deloitte survey. The report notes that consumers’ concerns extend to just about every item that is consumed, whether it is produce, meat, seafood, product ingredients, or food additives.

The top food concerns noted among most consumers are health and safety. Specifically, consumers identified the top concerns to be:

• Healthiness of the ingredients (61%)
• Possible use of chemical ingredients that are detrimental to my health (49%)
• Safety of the ingredients (49%)
• Country of origin of the product (21%)
• Contracting a food-borne illness (20%)
• Possible allergenic reaction (16%)

With respect to food recalls, consumers referenced the following types of behaviors:

• Stopped eating a particular food, temporarily or permanently, as a result of a recent recall (57%)
• Believe the number of food-related recalls has increased in the past year (73%)
• The areas of most concern include recalls of beef (79%), chicken (67%), fruits and vegetables (53%), and dairy products (53%)

In addition, consumers exhibit a wariness of imported food and they are more likely to gravitate toward local food:

• Think imported foods are “not at all” or only “somewhat” safe (56%)
• Believe that domestically produced foods are safe (80%)
• Would like to see food stores sell more fruits and vegetables that come from local farms (89%)
• Would pay slightly more for local produce (69%)

Other important findings:

• 76% of consumers are more concerned today than they were five years ago about the food they eat.
• 52% always or frequently read the nutrition facts on unfamiliar packaged food items; most look at the calories, fat, sugar, sodium, and cholesterol as opposed to the vitamin, protein, and potassium data.
• 22% find the nutrition data confusing, while 9% do not look at it at all.
• 70% eat organic fruits and vegetables.
• Health concerns for packaged foods are high; 69% want more high-fiber foods, 66% want more low-sugar products, 65% want more low-calorie options, and 64% would like more low-salt products.

Consumers are also resistant to new technologies that can change the basic nature of foods:

• 37% are extremely or very concerned about genetically modified foods
• 49% would not purchase meat from cloned animals
• 15% are concerned about the use of antibiotics in animals