A Michigan State University study reports that the majority of consumers look for labels that show products they buy are inspected for safety, and roughly a third are willing to pay more for that labeling.
Quoting a press release from PRWeb:
"In addition to indicating a high sensitivity to food safety issues, US consumers say they want to see evidence on product labels that the food they are buying has passed some kind of independent safety certification process. Moreover, slightly more than one third of consumers indicate a willingness to pay a premium, upwards of 30 percent more.
It is interesting and important to note that higher price alone is not a direct signal of safer food," says Dr. Chris Peterson, director of the Product Center at MSU. "Even brand name recognition is not the most powerful indicator of safety. Voluntary third party certification compares favorably with mandatory government inspection and slightly ahead of traceability labeling in the mind of the consumer. In fact, most consumers would advise the food industry to invest proportionately more in certification programs than in government inspection or traceability."
