International Food Information Council: 2023 Food and Health Survey Report

The International Food Information Council released its 2023 Food and Health Survey, with key findings including:

Rising food and beverage prices affect shopping behavior for many Americans

Three-quarters of Americans (76%) say price has a significant impact on their food and beverage purchasing decisions, an increase from last year’s results (68%). Women (82%) are more likely than men (70%) to say price significantly influences their decisions.

Social media content focused on food and nutrition can cause confusion and skepticism

Four in 10 Americans (42%) have seen food and nutrition-related content on social media in the past year, with Gen Z (71%) and Millennials (58%) being more likely to be exposed to this content.

Food and drink choices are linked to mental and emotional health

Three-quarters of Americans (74%) believe the food and beverages they purchase have a major or moderate impact on their overall mental and emotional health. More than six in 10 (61%) also believe their overall mental and emotional health has a major or moderate impact on their food and beverage choices. Gen Z (71%) and Millennials (68%) are more likely than Baby Boomers (56%) to believe their food choices are influenced by their health.

Environmental sustainability continues to lag behind other decision-making factors

One-third of Americans (34%) say environmental sustainability has a great influence on their food and beverage purchasing decisions, which continues to lag behind other factors. Similarly, 35% say a product’s climate friendliness influences their purchasing decisions. Millennials are most likely to care about this issue (46%), followed by Gen Z at 39%, Gen X at 38% and Baby Boomers at 22%.

About half of Americans have followed a dietary pattern in the past year

In line with last year’s survey, 52% of Americans followed a specific eating pattern or eating habits in the past year. Gen Z (66%) and Millennials (63%) are more likely to follow a eating pattern or eating habits than Gen X (50%) and Baby Boomers (41%).

Snacking frequency rises for second consecutive year

Seven in 10 Americans (72%) snack at least once a day outside of a meal, a finding consistent with last year’s survey (73%). The most common reason for snacking is hunger or thirst, which has increased since 2022, from 34% to 41%. Other top reasons for snacking include thinking that snacking is a treat (29%) and craving sweet (21%) and salty (21%) snacks.

Most Americans confident in safety of food supply, but more education would be helpful

Seven in 10 Americans (70%) feel “very” or “somewhat” confident in the safety of the U.S. food supply, a finding similar to the 2022 results (68%). Interestingly, Baby Boomers (77%), Gen X (70%) and Millennials (70%) are more likely to feel confident than Gen Z, of which less than half (44%) feel confident.

More Americans are willing to pay a premium for socially sustainable products

More than four in ten Americans (46%) say that fair and equitable treatment of workers who produce, distribute or serve the food they eat is an important factor in their decisions about what food or beverages to buy.