Making sense of the “clean label” trends: A review of consumer food choice behavior and discussion of industry implications

Consumers in industrialized countries are nowadays much more interested in information about the production methods and components of the food products that they eat, than they had been 50years ago. Some production methods are perceived as less "natural" (i.e. conventional agriculture) while some food components are seen as "unhealthy" and "unfamiliar" (i.e. artificial additives). This phenomenon, often referred to as the "clean label" trend, has driven the food industry to communicate whether a certain ingredient or additive is not present or if the food has been produced using a more "natural" production method (i.e. organic agriculture). However, so far there is no common and objective definition of clean…

• EC
  European Commission

  Awards: FP/-PEOPLE-I2012-IEF, 329761
• FF
  Foundation for Research Levy on Agricultural Products