WASHINGTON — Consumer confidence in the safety of the food supply has fallen to 62% from 70% since last year, and consumers are concerned especially about the presence of certain ingredients, according to new data from the International Food Information Council (IFIC).

The findings come from the recent “IFIC Spotlight Survey,” which analyzed the perceptions surrounding the safety and healthfulness of food and food ingredients based on responses from 1,000 American consumers. The survey found 31% of respondents consider the presence of an ingredient to be the most significant factor in evaluating the health risks of a packaged food or beverage, followed by concerns about the amount of an ingredient (21%) and the total number of ingredients (16%).

“Trust is at the heart of food choices for individuals and their families,” said Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, RD, MSN, chief executive officer of IFIC. “By exploring how consumers assess food and ingredient safety, we can pinpoint where trust may be faltering and identify opportunities to rebuild it.”

Ingredients facing the most scrutiny included dyes/colors, sugar substitutes, monosodium glutamate (MSG), bioengineered ingredients and preservatives. The results reaffirm earlier data from IFIC’s annual Food & Health Survey that showed consumers’ definition of “healthy” is increasingly focused on criteria like “limited or no artificial ingredients or preservatives.”

Microbial concerns also ranked highly, with 32% of respondents stating they were extremely concerned about the presence of E. coli in ground beef. Consumers indicated they were similarly focused on the levels of cadmium in chocolate, mercury in seafood, and lead, cadmium or arsenic in baby food, and over half of those concerned said they have changed their eating habits as a result. Allergens were less of a focus area, with only 16% of consumers stating they were extremely concerned about allergens in packaged foods and 15% saying they were extremely concerned about allergens in restaurant foods.

Despite the emphasis on health factors and ingredient concerns among some respondents, nearly a quarter said they don’t consider the health risks or benefits of food and beverages and almost 3 in 10 don’t avoid any ingredients mentioned in the survey.

“While we weren’t surprised that certain ingredients or foods carry a less desirable reputation, we were surprised that 1 in 4 Americans simply do not think about either the health risks or the health benefits of what they eat or drink,” said Tony Flood, senior director of food ingredient communications at IFIC.

Most Americans equally consider the health risk and benefits of their food and beverage choices, and there are more consumers that focus on health benefits than risks among those that only consider one of the two factors.