Two-Thirds of Consumers Deem Transparency Very to Extremely Important, Survey Finds

Two-thirds of consumers say transparency in animal protein is extremely or very important, says Merck Animal Health, as part of the company’s results in its first consumer transparency research study.

The study focused on gauging consumers’ growing interest in transparency in animal protein and its importance in their purchasing decision and brand trust. Specifically, the study explored the consumers’ perception of industry transparency when to comes to animal welfare and sustainability and the crossover between transparency, traceability and their willingness to pay for transparency label claims.

Surveyed consumers were given the following definitions:
Transparency: knowing how food is grown, raised and made
Traceability: know where foods come from, or more specifically, being able to follow the movement of food products and ingredients through the supply chain

Study Results

Capturing the opinions of over 1,000 consumers who represent the U.S. shopper, highlights of the study’s results include:
•    66% reported transparency in animal proteins (meat, fish, eggs and dairy) as extremely or very important; reasons were considered personal, such as health and nutrition
•    86% of consumers who reported transparency as important also rank traceability as extremely or very important; 40% of those consumers also want to know where the livestock comes from
•    Over 50% reported they were willing to pay a 5% premium for transparent labeling
•    55% reported environmental sustainability as very to extremely important
•    66% reported animal care and treatment very to extremely important

“The survey results tell us consumers want more information than ever in order to make informed decisions about the food they put on their dinner tables,” says Allison Flinn, DVM, executive director of value chain and consumer affairs at Merck Animal Health. 

Merck Animal Health describes the company’s DNA TRACEBACK platform as one example of an animal protein traceability solution to accurately trace meat and seafood from farm to table that helps build trust in food labels. Utilizing “nature’s bar code”—DNA—this technology assigns a unique barcode number at slaughter to each animal that can be traced through the supply chain from the farm gate, to the processing plant and to the restaurant plate. 

Sustainability, nutrition, food safety and animal welfare are all topics consumers want to know more about, and greater transparency builds trust, Flinn adds. This research also provides insights into how farmers, ranchers, food brands and allied industry partners, like Merck Animal Health, can collaborate to meet their expectations.