This document summarizes findings from a global survey of 7,000 individuals about their attitudes and behaviors related to diet, meals, and food safety concerns. Key findings include: - Half of respondents feel the food they eat could harm their health, with 93% in China feeling this way. - Obesity is the top health concern, with 78% watching what they eat, yet many overweight individuals believe their diets are healthy. - Eating out is common, especially for lunch, with China having the highest rates of eating meals out. - Respondents seek reassurance about food ingredients and quality, and prefer natural foods without preservatives or GMOs. - Most would like to see innovations for

1. Food for thought
Consumer attitudes, behaviours
and concerns on food

2. 2 Food for thought
This overview into food habits is sourced
from Food 360, a report produced in
partnership between TNS and SIAL.
Methodology
Countries: France, Germany, Spain, UK,
USA, urban Russia and urban China
Urban Russia: towns 100,000+ inhabitants,
Urban China (tier 1, 2 and 3 cities): larger &
with above average income and education
Sample size: c. 1000 in each country
Demographic: 18+ (18-55 in China)
Fieldwork: June 2012
Data collection: Interviews carried out online

3. © 2013 TNS 3
Introduction
TNS has more conversations
with the world’s consumers
than anyone else. Here we
share some of the findings
from our global survey,
speaking to 7000 individuals
about their attitudes and
behaviours relating to diet,
mealtimes and concerns.
Our love of food and cooking co-exists
with worries about food safety. Cooking oil
dredged from sewers in China for resale,
salmonella in American peanuts, mislabelled
horsemeat; there is a media diet of food
safety scares and it concerns us. Half of us
say we feel it likely that the food we eat will
harm our health, a figure that rises to 93%
in China!
We are also aware that our diet choices
affect our health. Obesity is the most
mentioned issue with 78% of us watching
what we eat. It is perhaps unsurprising
therefore that we prefer natural ingredients
and find reassurance in words like ‘100%
natural’, and ‘no preservatives’.

4. 4 Food for thought
At my place of
work / learning
At friends or family
Walking, in the street, while
shopping or while travelling
In a café, bar, restaurant,
or fast food restaurant
At the cinema
or leisure venue
45
30 8
39
9
% of people eating ‘at least one meal’
in each of these places regardless of day
Food for thought4
Eating out of home is well
established, especially at lunch time.
Regardless of meal, China scores
morehighly against all measures.
Eating at least one meal out (Mon–Fri %)
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Eating out is commonplace
� 7 country average � Urban China
24 54
55 83
5226

5. © 2013 TNS 5
Food and health
There is a significant belief that food can
damage your health. It is highest in China;
possibly a legitimate response to the need
to improve food safety standards – an issue
acknowledged by the Chinese authorities
and reflected in the EIU Global Food Security
index, where China comes 40th in the world
ranking for food quality and safety. French
fears may be slightly overplayed – in that
same study France takes second spot for
quality and safety.
I am at risk of the food
that I eat damaging my health (%)
93
59
55
44
39
33
33
Urban
China
France
Urban
Russia
Germany
USA
Spain
UK
40
2
27
21
3
5
17
Food quality and
safety country rank*
*EIU Global Food Security Index, June – September 2012

6. 6 Food for thought
Confident yet concerned
There is high awareness of the risks that
food can pose to health. Germans are
the least concerned, Chinese the most.
Cancer is a significant concern in China
with 60% citing this as a probable risk.
Food poisoning is particular concern in
Russia and China (74%). Despite high
risk awareness most people (84%) are
‘confident in the quality of the food we
eat.’ However it is a heavily qualified
confidence: only 11% are completely
confident in the quality of their food.
The main health risks
attributed to food (%)
Obesity
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Food poisoning
Cardiovascular disease
High blood pressure
Food allergies
Lack of calcium
Cancer
Alzheimers
78
75
58
57
56
51
49
35
34
10

7. © 2013 TNS 7
84%are confident in the quality of the food we eat
Completely confident 11%
Fairly confident 73%
© 2013 TNS 7

8. 8 Food for thought8 Food for thought
Are we honest with ourselves?
Almost half of us are obese
or overweight, yet 81% of us
believe that our eating habits
are good for our health.
Even amongst the obese, that figure is 67%.
Paradoxically, the USA and UK, two countries
with high obesity levels, are most confident
in their assertion that their diet is good for
their health.
The contradiction in obese people believing
their eating habits bring a health benefit is
not because of a lack of weight awareness:
77% agree that they eat more than they
should. Perhaps there is a poor understanding
of how obesity affects health or a belief that
food’s nutritional benefits outweigh any
negative consequences of being overweight.
67%of the obese or overweight
population believe their eating
habits are good for their health

9. © 2013 TNS 9
� I have to watch my weight / be careful what I eat
� Overweight or obese*
USA Germany UK Spain France Urban
Russia
Urban
China
73 61 76 58 75 57 68 49 71 47 85 47 95 20
Obesity
Weight is an issue for most people: 75%
said they have to watch what they eat and
64% said they tried to maintain or lose
weight during the last year. It is a concern
that is not always rational; 35% of those
classified as underweight tried to maintain
or lose weight. There is irony in the fact
that the Chinese, who are the most careful
about what they eat, have least cause to be.
* The figures refer to the proportion of the adult
population who are overweight or obese. Overweight
is defined as having a bmi from 25 – 30 and obese as
having a bmi greater than 30.

10. 10 Food for thought
We seek reassurance
Consumers want to know what is in the
food they eat and where it is from.
Russians find the most reassurance in
knowing about their food, with scores of
71% for product ingredients and 56% for
place of manufacture. ‘Organic’ labelling
is reassuring to Russians (41%) but less so
elsewhere, least of all in the UK (15%).
The Chinese place most trust in the presence
of a quality label (67%) and brand (57%).
Furthermore, consumers are reassured more
by what is not in their food than by what
is. They do not want preservatives (77%) or
pesticides (76%), artificial flavourings (72%),
antibiotics (71%) or genetic modification
(69%).
They want natural ingredients (79%).
Elements found most reassuring
regarding food quality
Product ingredients
Origin/place of manufacture
Information on packaging
Product appearance
Place where you bought
the product
The brand
Presence of a quality label
Producer’s / shop’s info
on the product
Price
Organically produced
Opinions of other consumers
55%
46%
45%
41%
40%
36%
36%
28%
25%
25%
21%
10 Food for thought

11. © 2013 TNS 11
Seeking innovations for health
Healthy innovations top our list
Consumers would like to see food
companies direct their creative energies
towards making foods that bring health
benefits. Natural food scores highly but
consumers also want foods that makes us
healthier, keeps us slim, and are free of
allergens. At a country level, the desire for
foods with medical benefits is strongest in
Russia and China and weakest in the USA,
the UK and Germany.
Would you find it beneficial for food
brands to innovate or invest further
along these lines?
Well-being
Natural health
Natural
82%More natural food products / ingredients
Medical
Health
76%Preventative health food products which
maintain / boost your health
Diet/slimming
64%Products which help with keeping your figure,
weight loss or the fight against obesity

12. 12 Food for thought
Seeking innovations for taste
Would you find it beneficial for food
brands to innovate or invest further
along these lines?
Authenticity
73%Authentic products produced using traditional skills
Storage
73%Improved length of time the product stays fresh
and retains its taste characteristics
Sensations
65%Diversity of tastes, flavours, colours, textures
Traditional
Convenience
Pleasure
Traditional foods appeal
A preference for authentic production
methods echoes our desire for simple,
natural ingredients. We want our food
prepared by artisans. But we also want food
that stays fresh longer, is faster to prepare
and comes in a diversity of tastes, textures
and colours. In other words we want our
food produced by an 18th century miller
with a PHD in Food Technology!
The evident tension here provides
opportunity for innovation.

13. © 2013 TNS 13
We want to be good citizens
Eating ethically carries an aura of virtue
and, when prompted, we express interest
in food innovations that respect the
environment, are locally sourced and do not
exploit the workers. We want to be good
citizens. However, the reality of what we
do doesn’t always match our high ideals.
For example, although 74% want more
environmentally friendly foods, when asked
what they actually prefer to buy, only 50%
said they bought food with less or recyclable
packaging.
Environmentally Friendly
74%I would like more food products which respect the
environment preserve natural resources
Would you find it beneficial for food
brands to innovate or invest further
along these lines?
Seeking innovations for sustainability
Local
74%I would like more food products
made in my region or close by
Ethical
66%I would like more food products made while
respecting the workers’ and / or producers’ rights

14. 14 Food for thought
Further analysis now available...
Want a more in-depth UK
segmentation analysis of people’s
attitudes to food?
If you would like to learn more about all six clusters or to get more depth about
the UK data and segmentations, please contact Colin Moyer on
+44 (0) 207 656 5121 – colin.moyer@tnsglobal.com
Age, education, number of children and time to cook all help
determine our attitudes to food and cooking. TNS’ additional
analysis of the UK, divides the nation into six distinct clusters;
Wholesome Diners, Culinary Connoisseurs, Mobile Millennials,
Rapid Refuelers, Modern Feasters and Family Feeders.
This group loves cooking and are
inspired by TV chefs. But they are
younger, often with children and their
busy lives mean that they don’t have
time to spend cooking every day or to
ensure that they have a balanced diet.
Family Feeders
19%
One cluster in focus:

15. © 2013 TNS 15
How TNS can help
As the world’s leading custom research
company, TNS is a trusted advisor to an
impressive portfolio of FMCG food
companies providing information and
insights which are vital inputs to their future
planning and growth.
TNS advises clients on specific growth
strategies around innovation, brand strategy,
and shopper research – helping FMCG
companies solve the most pressing business
issues at every stage of a product’s lifecycle.
With a presence in over 80 countries,
TNS has more conversations with the
world’s consumers than anyone else and
understands individual human behaviours
and attitudes across every cultural, economic
and political region of the world.
TNS is part of Kantar, one of the world’s
largest insight, information and consultancy
groups. Please visit www.tnsglobal.com
for more information.

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