Food Quality Magazine
ISSUE 04 | OCTOBER 2015
ods to replace lunch and dinner too.
Snacks are changing and there are
more customer demands for fresh
fruits based snacks and other fresh
products. Also more important is becoming the frozen products program
as that kind of technology has the
ability to lock freshness in products.
Private label is no longer synonymous with plain packaging or poorer
quality. Big retailers are investing in
developing of quality products with
changes in design of packaging for
consumer attention.
As we can see even food industry
trends that were built according to
customer demands is showing that
focus is on healthier food products
and healthier choices.
But, what is healthy food? There are
so many definitions, but at the end
it is very hard to define it because
healthy food for some people is not
healthy while for the others is (one
could eat chocolate bar with peanut,
but for the other it makes allergies).
One definition seems to be generally
used - Healthy food is food products
that provide essential nutrients and
energy to sustain growth, health
and life while satiating hunger.
Detailed explained healthy food is:
• Fresh or minimally processed foods
– for example fresh fruits or vegetable, or minimally processed food
like frozen mixed vegetables,
• Naturally dense in nutrients – for
example there is 11 Most Nutrient
Dense Foods on The Planet (Salmon,
Kale, Seaweed, Garlic, Shellfish,
Potatoes, Liver, Sardines, Blueberries,
Egg Yolks, Dark Chocolate, Cocoa),
• When eaten, sustain growth,
repair and maintain vital processes,
promote longevity, reduce disease,
strengthen and maintain the body
and mind and its functions.
According to Technomic Inc. Healthy
Eating Consumer Report (picture 1),
consumers are becoming more health conscious and this is changing
the definition of healthy food. It is
noted that, “today‘s consumers are
increasingly driven to local, natural,
Picture 1: to Technomic Inc. Healthy Eating Consumer Report infogram
https://www.technomic.com/Reports_and_Newsletters/Consumer_Trend_
Reports/dyn_PubLoad.php?pID=75
organic and sustainable offerings—
all of which are strongly tied to
their contemporary definitions of
health”.
This changed definition is in grate
connection with Food and Health
Survey 2015 done by International
Food
Information
Council
Foundation, were it is stated that,
“four in ten Americans believe that
a sustainable diet means that the
foods they eat represent a balanced,
nutritious meal” (picture 2). Also
grate percentage in survey showed
that sustainable diet for people means affordable and readily available,
which have smaller impact on the
environment and that are produced
in socially responsible way. Same
survey points out what information’s
are consumers reading these days
on packaging of food products. And
it can be see that expiration date,
nutrition facts panel, also calorie
and other nutrition information are
among top 5 (picture 3).
All of this consumer demands
changed the focus from food safety
that become something that must be
or exist to hewing healthier products
and healthier choices.
Here important point is that all healthy products must be safe, but all
safe products are not at the same
time healthy.
Global Food Industry Trends
How consumer demands are
affecting big food producers
19