In Washington, D.C., the International Food Information Council Foundation’s 12th Annual Food and Health Survey found that 96 percent of consumers seek health benefits from what they eat and drink, but only 45 percent could identify a single food or nutrient associated with those benefits. 78 percent say that they encounter a lot of conflicting information about what to eat or avoid and 56 percent say the conflicting information makes them doubt the choices they make.
The data suggests that consumers might be making flawed decisions because of non-health factors including whether the food is fresh, frozen or canned, the place of purchase and price. For example, even with nutritionally identical products, consumers are almost five times as likely to believe a fresh product is healthier than canned, four times as likely to believe a fresh product is healthier than frozen and that expensive products are healthier than discounted ones.