Consumers' preference for food labels

American consumers prefer foods labeled as "rich in antioxidants"

Foods labeled as "rich in antioxidants" are much more likely to be consumed "very frequently" or "somewhat frequently" (40%) by American consumers compared to foods labeled as "antioxidants added" (25%).

Decision Analyst's Food Ingredients: What's Hot? report, based on a survey of 16,392 US grocery shoppers, indicates that consumers prefer the label copy "rich in" as opposed to "added".

"Our findings suggest that more Americans frequently consume products labeled 'rich in' these ingredients, compared to products that have the same ingredients 'added'," says Diane Brewton, senior VP of the market intelligence group.

"This is likely due to the perception that foods rich in an ingredient are more natural and less processed, compared to foods that have these ingredients added to them during the manufacturing process."