Tuesday, 17 August 2010 16:41 Dine & Cook Staff Report

Organic foods continue to be popular choices for American consumers.

An informal survey by Harris Interactive found that three out of four adults continue to purchase natural and, or organic foods-- that's up from 73 percent in 2009. The study also found that the number of organic products found in consumers' grocery baskets has increased. Twenty-seven percent of adults say that natural and/or organic foods comprise more than a quarter of their total food purchases, up from 20 percent a year ago.

"There has been a sea change these past 30 years in shopper attitudes toward food with a growing appetite for information on how and where food is produced to what's in the food and how it impacts health," says Michael Besancon, Senior Global Vice President of Purchasing, Distribution & Marketing for Whole Foods Market.

The Harris Interactive study was commissioned by Whole Foods Market in honor of its upcoming 30th anniversary in September. The study also found that Baby Boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964, are more concerned with what they eat than people were 30 years ago. More than four-fifths of adults say they are now more concerned with what foods they eat, they read nutrition labels more closely today and have a better understanding of how their food is produced than they did in 1980.

For a snapshot of how food buying habits have changed over the past 30 years, Whole Foods Market asked Boomers to rank the top items nearly always in the pantry/refrigerator in 1980 compared to today.

In 1980, the top five items were:
- Milk (89%)
- Canned or frozen vegetables (83%)
- White bread (74%)
- Soda/pop (74%)
- Iceberg lettuce (66%)

In 2010, the top five items are:
- Fresh fruit (83%)
- Milk (82%)
- Fresh vegetables (79%)
- Wheat or whole-grain bread (77%)
- Canned or frozen vegetables (69%)

Comparing the two time periods, spring or mixed lettuces show the highest increase in popularity today among Boomers-- 59 percent currently versus 14 percent 30 years ago. Lettuce is followed by wheat or whole-grain bread-- 77 percent currently versus 34 percent 30 years ago.

sugary cereal shows the largest decline in popularity among Boomers-- 63 percent 30 years ago versus 19 percent today, closely followed by white bread 74 percent 30 years ago versus 31 percent today.

The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Whole Foods Market from June 24-29, 2010 among 1,349 adults ages 46-64 and June 25-29 among 2,135 adults ages 18 and older.

These online surveys are not based on a probability samples and therefore no estimates of theoretical sampling errors can be calculated.