BlManctster Fanning, Saturday, April 8,1989 COLLEGE PARK, Md. Take a look in almost any shop ping bag -- paper or plastic -- and you’ll see signs that the American diet is changing ... for the better. More than ever, concerns about health and nutrition are influenc ing what foods people buy and how they prepare them. ’There was a time when con sumers bought products based mainly on taste, convenience, price and even how much they liked the package,” says Dr. Mark A. Kantor, a nutrition specialist with the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service. “But I think it’s safe to say that times have changed. The 1980 s may well be remembered as the decade that began the great nutri tion revolution -- a time when con sumers began to make food choices and plan their meals with nutrition in mind.” Thai’s not to say that taste isn’t important; it is. But nutrition is catching up. In its 1988 ’Trends” survey, the Food Marketing Insti tute (FMI), a national trade associ ation representing supermarket companies, reported that taste was “very important” to nearly nine out of ten shoppers (88 percent), followed by product safety, which was very important to 83 percent of shoppers. Seven out of ten (72 percent) shoppers said nutrition was very important, ranking it above price, storability and ease of preparation. And when shoppers who thought nutrition was “some what important” were taken into account, nutrition tied with taste and safety (at 98 percent) as a fac tor that influences purchase decisions. More than two-thirds of the shoppers surveyed by FMI said they frequently select foods to balance their families’ diet and serve nutritional snacks, such as fruits and vegetables. ‘These findings suggest that for almost all shoppers, nutrition plays a major role in the selection of food items,” notes Kantor. Changes in shopping behavior have been matched by changes in the kitchen. Two-thirds (67 per cent) of the shoppers questioned for FMl’s ‘Trends’* report, for example, say they cook or prepare foods differently than they did three to five years ago. They use less salt and sugar (40 and 17 per New American Revolution cent, respectively), eat more veg etables and fresh foods (20 per cent) and less red meat (IS per cent). These figures represent an increase of at least eight percen tage points in each category since last year. Based on a national telephone survey of some 1,000 adult shop pers, FMl’s survey results are similar to those revealed in polls conducted to evaluate federal public health programs. Called “Health and Diet Surveys,” these polls are based on telephone inter views with some 4,000 consumers nationwide. Their most recent results indi cate that 61 percent of Americans have made major diet changes during the past two years, specifi cally to reduce their risks of cancer and heart disease. Efforts to reduce fat intake - especially by cutting down on red meat -- predominate, followed by attempts to cut back on salt, sugar, and cholesterol. Consumers inter viewed for the federal surveys also reported eating more fish, poultry, fresh produce and bran or whole-grain products. Kantor isn’t surprised. “Since the early 19705, per capita consumption of fresh veget ables has increased more than 20 pecent - from 75 pounds a year to more than 90 pounds today,” he says. “Fresh fruit consumption has increased more than 13 percent, with each American now eating more than 210 pounds a year.” If you extend the dielaty com parison to 1965, the differences are even more dramatic. We’re eating 34 percent more fish, 120 percent more pasta products, 198 percent more low-fat milk and yogurt and a whopping 767 per cent more broccoli. Many of these changes can be attributed to advertising, increased media attention and public infor mation campaigns. “Consumers are literally being bombarded with messages about nutrition,” says Kantor. “Even a casual television views’ like me can’t help but notice all the com mercials that emphasize nutrition. And have you noticed there seem to be more and more popular magazines dealing with nutrition, health and fitness appearing on the newsstands?” Paralleling consumers’ increased awareness of the diet health link is a growing interest in food quality and safety. Three fourths of consumers consider pesticide and herbicide residues to be a “serious hazard,” and an addi tional 20 percent deem them “something of a hazard,” accord ing to the 1988 ‘Trends” survey. 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