(Des Moines) — What labels attract you as a consumer of food? Locally grown…All natural…organic…non-GMO? A survey of 353 health-conscious Iowans was recently conducted by the Iowa Food and Family Project, a subdivision of the Iowa Soybean Association. The survey showed consumers find food labels helpful, but consumer confidence in the trustworthiness of most food label claims has declined during the past year, and falls even more when provided additional information about those claims. Aaron Putze is the Communications Director For the Iowa Food and Family Project, and offers an overview of the survey findings.
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Putze says consumers prefer both quality and quantity of information for when they are making a food choice purchasing decision. He says the Iowa Food and Family Project want to make certain consumers are getting the right information.
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The survey indicated consumers like it when the word “local” is used in connection to describe the food. However, Putze says consumers were undecided as to a specific definition for the word “local”.
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What about foods that are labeled as “organic”, “hormone-free”, antibiotic-free, or even free of Genetically Modified Organisms?
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The commodity organization official says the survey shows consumers believe and trust the word of the farmer, grower, or producer when it comes to purchasing food items.
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He says Iowa farmers, and those farmers and producers across the nation, truly care about the food they produce for consumers.
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