Label-Wise, American Savvy About On Par With Global Consumers

food labelConsumers in general are certainly more aware of food labeling, but Americans don't seem to be all that much savvier about food labeling than their counterparts in the rest of the world, judging from a new online survey from The Nielsen Company. 

Yes, 67% of Americans claim to "mostly" understand the nutritional information on food packaging, compared to just 44% of their counterparts around the world.

Also, when trying to lose weight, 25% of Americans, versus 15% of global consumers, say they scan food labels.

Still, the percentages of consumers who say they are paying more attention to nutritional information on food packaging than they did two years ago is virtually identical in the U.S. and elsewhere--65% and 66%, respectively. (Europeans are a bit behind the curve, at 59%.)

The 8% of Americans who never check the nutritional information is also consistent with the global average.

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In addition:

* The 67% of Americans who say they understand the difference between saturated fat and unsaturated fat is only slightly higher than the global average (60%).

* Only half as many Americans check food labels for preservatives--24%, compared to 42% of consumers globally.

Also, just 21% of Americans always check the nutritional information on food packaging, although 42% check it when they consider buying a product for the first time.

Still, 51% of Americans say they always check the fat content on nutrition labels, 48% check calories and 43% check trans fats, and 42% say they review the label as a whole the first time that they're considering buying a product.

And all of this label reading means that relatively inexpensive changes--like more user-friendly, informative labels--could add up to significant sales lifts for food marketers, points out Deepak Varma, senior vice president, Nielsen Customized Research.

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