Taste and nutrition company Kerry has released findings from its latest research on North American consumer attitudes, behaviors, and purchasing choices related to food safety, sustainability, and preventing food waste.  

While consumer purchasing remains very much centered on the most basic need of nutrition, the research confirms that consumers are shopping more consciously and are seeking out food that is perceived as natural. 

Plus, with COVID-19 shining a light on our global food supply chains complex nature, consumer concern with the safety of food is escalating. 

Transparency Triumphs
Kerrys research confirms that fresh meat remains the primary category for consumer safety concerns, with two-thirds of consumers citing it as their number one food category of concern. 

To build consumer trust, the food industry has an opportunity to increase the transparency of supply chains from farm to factory to shelf and provide further education on the safety measures taken along the way.

The findings showed that 49 percent of consumers have questions about the safety of plant-based meat alternatives, while 51 percent of consumers are concerned with plant-based dairy alternatives. 

The value of plant-based meat is expected to reach US$279 billion by 2025 as consumers increasingly turn attention to health, nutrition, sustainability and food provenance. 

It doesnt seem to be intuitive to consumers or the industry that the pathogen risks in plant-based meat alternatives are the same as in meat, and food safety in this space is not yet as highly regulated, notes the company.

Due to the wide range of substrates used, plant-based meats may have diverse susceptibility to microbial spoilage. Like their meat-based counterparts, they are near neutral in pH, high in protein and moisture content, so it is imperative that appropriate microbiological control mechanisms are put in place.

Food safety in the spotlight
To bring the research to life, Kerry has created an interactive educational digital tool wher food industry professionals can uncover key consumer food safety concerns in emerging categories and channels such as plant-based foods and beverages and foodservice and gauge their overall food safety knowledge. 

"Our proprietary consumer research confirmed that COVID-19 has accelerated an underlying trend of consumer attention to food safety. Consumers want reassurance from the food industry on how the food has been sourced, how it has been produced and how it has been protected, both from a microbiological perspective and increasingly from a physical perspective," says Neil Cracknell, president and CEO of Applied Health and Nutrition at Kerry.

"Consumers want safe food and food they can trust. Our new interactive tool brings these research findings to life and provides an opportunity for food industry professionals to assess their overall food safety knowledge."

Kerry has recently expanded its food protection and preservation range in response to the growing demand for consumer-friendly food protection solutions. 

These comprise five main building blocks, including fermentation metabolites, vinegars, flavor systems, protective cultures, and plant extracts. 

Kerry continually validates different combinations in application to identify additional valuable synergistic combinations, along with each food protection ingredient having its own distinct mechanism of action. 

This means Kerry can find optimal solutions across all food and beverage applications, whether for safekeeping, extending shelf life, cleaning up a label, meeting regulations and certifications, elevating taste and color, and/or maintaining texture.