When choosing food and drink products, 60 per cent of consumers worldwide avoid additive colours, preservatives and sweeteners, according to the results of a recent global consumer study.

Conducted by market research institute TNS, on behalf of the GNT Group, the results show that additives influence consumers most strongly when shopping for products.

A low fat content is important for 53 per cent of consumers, wheras 51 per cent look out for products with low sugar. Other product characteristics like organic qualities or fair trade are an issue for only 46 and 38 per cent respectively.

"The survey clearly shows that consumers worldwide explicitly examine the ingredients of food and beverages and factor them into their purchase decision," says Dr Hendrik Hoeck, managing director of GNT Group. "Food manufacturers should take this into account when developing products."

In addition to these general findings, the study also takes a closer look at different product categories. It demonstrates that the role of ingredients is dependent on the particular product.

Four categories have received special attention: soft drinks, sweets, yogurt and ice cream.

The results reveal that yogurt is the food category perceived as most natural. Two thirds of all respondents refuse additives in yogurts and wish for it to only contain natural ingredients. If these needs are not met, consumer trust can be affected.

However, with sweets and soft drinks, consumers assume – but dont approve of – the use of artificial ingredients more often. More than half of the respondents think that these products usually contain synthetic additives. Nevertheless, more than one in three would buy sweets, lemonade, ice cream and the like more frequently if they were made with natural ingredients only.