What nutrition information are restaurant goers looking for?

15-May-2013 - Last updated on 20-May-2013 at 15:08 GMT

Restaurant goers are looking at calories - but not much else...

Related tags Corn refiners association Nutrition

While four out of 10 consumers say they are trying to avoid or reduce intakes of certain fats and oils, cholesterol, sodium and sugar, only one in 10 actually looks for this kind of information on menus when dining out, according to NPD Group.

According to a new survey of 2,829 adults that eat at family and casual-dining outlets, the percentage of people that say they look at menus for levels of sodium, sugar, fat, carbs, cholesterol or other ingredients hovers around 10% - although 20% say they look at calorie counts.

Less than 1% cited HFCS when asked - unaided - what foods or ingredients they are trying to reduce or avoid, while more than 10% cited soda/pop, sugar and fat.

Commenting on the findings, Aron Levin, associate professor of marketing and director of the Marketing Research Partnership Program at Northern Kentucky University, said: “Restaurant owners should consider these results before investing substantially in revising recipes or revamping menus.

“This especially holds true when making considerations at the ingredient level as specific as the type of sweetener… In the moment of truth, consumers really don’t avoid the foods they say they will.”

The research, which surveyed 2,829 adults who visited family-dining and casual-dining restaurants in the past three months, was commissioned by the Corn Refiners Association and conducted by The NPD Group.