Food and Culinary

Consumer confidence in food safety is at its highest point in seven years, with 88% of shoppers “completely” or “somewhat” confident in the safety of food at the supermarket, according to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report. Consumers continue to be most comfortable with food grown in the United States versus imported products. The Trends survey found that while consumers are interested in nutrition, money worries are complicating their ability to make healthy choices when deciding what to eat.

Food and beverage innovation will continue to run broad and deep, with convenience remaining an unexpected, yet secondary attribute of most successful new products. When it comes to food and beverage innovation other key influencers include: Self-Driven Health & Wellness, Experiential Eating, Gluten-Free, and Sustainability.

A move to three square meals a day, more home cooking, and an all-out cry to ‘get real’ are among the major trends reshaping the food industry in 2011 and beyond. Here are the top 10 food trends in the new report by the Institute of Food Technologists:Read more

Simplicity, stealth sugar and calorie reductions, one product with multiple benefits and restaurant quality at home will be the four top food and beverage trends influencing manufacturers this year, according to a roundtable of experts convened by ingredient company Tate & Lyle. The top trend, simplicity, reflects consumers’ growing preference for products made with fewer, easy-to-understand ingredients and a transparent label as highlighted by Datamonitor.Read more

New research is hoping to determine whether the rising demand for ‘free from’ foods is driven by a real need or a fad, while also identifying the potential opportunities for food and drink makers. UK based Leatherhead Food Research said it is aiming to identify consumption patterns, perceptions and motivations for consuming ‘suitable-for’ products through a new project that will involve Europe-wide consumer surveys and in-depth telephone interviews with manufacturers and retailers. The completion date is December this year, with the project set to kick-start this month.