70% of U.S. Diners Want More Menu Transparency

Seventy percent of U.S. diners want more information about the sourcing and nutritional value of their meals when dining out, and 64 percent would choose healthier meals if more information was provided, according to Unilever Food Solutions’ new World Menu Report.

The "What's in Your Food?" report surveyed 3,500 diners in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, Brazil and Turkey who dine out at least once a week to measure their attitudes and behaviors toward eating out.

“Globally, consumers’ attitudes toward healthy eating are evolving and their desire for delicious food when dining out is constant," said Lisa Carlson, MS, RD, development nutritionist, R&D, Unilever Food Solutions North America. “Consumers want food that tastes good, but they also want food that is good for them. Because of this, today’s chefs have a tremendous opportunity to help consumers eat better by providing healthy, great-tasting menu options, as well as increasing transparency about meal content so that consumers can make informed decisions."

The majority of U.S. respondents want greater transparency about ingredient sourcing and production, preparation details and nutritional content; however, 83 percent said that information is not currently offered by restaurants. In non-western and developing nations, 90 percent or more of respondents want more information.

Sixty-seven percent of U.S. respondents said food labels, including low fat and calorie content, would be a welcome addition to menus when dining out. Across all surveyed countries, fat, calories, preservatives and food additives topped respondents’ lists of the nutrients and ingredients they are most interested in knowing more about when dining out. In the United States and United Kingdom, sodium is also seen as an important topic for information, while in China respondents would like to know more about the vitamins and proteins in their meals.

“The World Menu Report has highlighted a clear call-to-action for those of us within the foodservice industry—we need to not only provide consumers with delicious food but also the information they want and need about their meal content," said Steven Jilleba, CMC, executive chef with Unilever Food Solutions North America.

Sources:

* Unilever Food Solutions: Unilever Food Solutions "World Menu Report"