Guest Columns

Perspective:
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Processed foods ‘The Villain’: What should we be doing about it?

Connie Tipton

Connie Tipton is president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association. She contributes this column exclusively for Cheese Market News®.

From obesity to chronic diseases, overwhelmingly negative media coverage is blaming “processed foods” for everything. Descriptors like “nutrient void,” “unhealthy,” “dangerous,” “toxic,” “bad for the planet” and one of my favorites — “morally wrong” — have been used in these discussions about processed foods. The benefits of processed foods are completely buried.

Michael Pollan, author of “Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto,” sets forth rules to follow in deciding what to eat, which start with avoiding all food products with more than five ingredients and those that contain unfamiliar ingredients or high fructose corn syrup (a healthful sweetener made from corn that has nothing wrong with it, by the way). He goes on to argue that we shouldn’t eat anything that our grandmothers didn’t eat, never mind that our grandparents died about 20 years earlier than people do today. This guy is quoted in almost every article about processed foods, despite the fact that he has no real credentials in this area.

My initial reaction to recent coverage of processed foods was one of skepticism; consumers couldn’t possibly think of dairy products as part of this web of negativity. To get more information, I joined with a group of others in the food industry to do a little research about this issue. I wanted to know what impact public perception of processed foods could have on dairy. Is there a simple communications problem affecting the food industry in general? Or are there strong enough concerns to lead a consumer to de-select our products?

Initial consumer research found that consumers are being influenced by all of the unfavorable coverage and have a high level of interest and concern, most centered on health. The term “processed” as a descriptor of food, rated right down there with “junk,” “irradiated” and “produced through biotechnology.” I was particularly interested to learn that almost half of those who reacted to the term “processed foods” as somewhat or very unfavorable were more likely than those who are favorable to processed foods to be married, to have children living at home, to have achieved a higher educational status, to be female, to be Caucasian and to have a higher household income.

Another real surprise out of the research came when respondents were asked unaided: “Of the foods and beverages you consume regularly, which would you say are processed foods?” The foods they mentioned included milk, sliced cheese, macaroni and cheese, and yogurt. It’s good news that people are eating our industry’s products, but not so good that they think of them as “processed,” which places our nutritious products under this negative halo.

As I mentioned, the strengths of processed foods are nowhere to be found in today’s media coverage. The food industry knows that foods that have undergone one type of processing or another stay fresh longer, offer consistency in quality and taste, and are convenient — all of which rank high in consumers’ minds. But it’s clear we have a lot of work to do to improve perceptions of processed foods in the areas of healthfulness, safety and nutrition.

Across the food industry, we will be looking at how to improve the words and messages we use to talk about our products. However, I wanted you to be aware of this consumer research as you develop your products, your labels and your marketing campaigns. Only with a concerted effort are we going to be able to successfully turn this avalanche of negative perceptions around. Let’s make sure that dairy is on the forefront of this effort.

CMN

The views expressed by CMN’s guest columnists are their own opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of Cheese Market News®.

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