Sugar awareness ‘limited’ despite attempts to cut back – Cargill

From:FoodBev

Public awareness of sugars and sweeteners is ‘quite limited’, according to a new survey from Cargill, despite significant attempts from consumers to cut back on the quantity of sugars and sweeteners that they consume.

The research, carried out by Ipsos, found that sugars were the single ingredient on product labels that consumers are steering clear of. In total, 42% of respondents said that they were either trying to cut their intake of sugar or avoid it entirely, compared to 18% for fats and 11% for salt or sodium.

Other products recorded nominal values, with just 7% trying to avoid or cut out artificial preservatives, while only 4% said that they were actively avoiding a particular allergen.

The figures highlight a shift in consumer perception and medical consensus, and comes amid a string of legislation around that would imp taxes on sugary soft drinks.

When asked to identify different types of sugars and sweeteners, up to a third of consumers were unable to spontaneously recall any type of sugar or sweetener, with Poland having the lowest awareness, Cargill said. Only 1% of consumers specifically named glucose-fructose syrup as a type of sugar.

Overall results show that, if consumers were prompted, honey, cane, white sugar, fructose and stevia were in the top five most recognised sugars and sweeteners, but when the data was reviewed on a country-by-country basis, some variance was noted.

The survey demonstrates that, among consumers, glucose-fructose syrups in particular are still relatively unknown, with some consumers indicating they would be interested in learning more about the origins of glucose-fructose syrups (corn and wheat) and their nutritional value.

The study results indicate that consumers consider healthcare professionals and government ministries to be the most trustworthy sources of health information, while ingredient manufacturers, and the brands using the ingredients, are perceived to be less credible.

52% of respondents said that they perceived white sugar to be a natural product, with that figure falling to 47% for stevia.

“The Ipsos survey, commissioned by Cargill, provides essential information about consumers’ perceptions of sugars and the influence they have on their purchasing decisions,” Cargill said. “By sharing this dataset, Cargill underlines its commitment to helping the food and beverage industry thrive by offering the latest insights in market developments, complemented by our expertise and extensive sweetener portfolio.”

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