Dieticians, Nutritionists Report Decreased Confidence In Food Supply

Almost 40% of American Dietetic Association members surveyed say their confidence in the food supply has decreased over the past twelve months, according to a survey conducted by the California Olive Industry.

The registered dieticians and nutritionists also indicated a strong preference for American food, with 66% saying that when presented with a choice, they prefer food that was produced in the U.S. This preference appears to stem from the belief that U.S. produced food is more highly regulated than other countries. Seventy-once percent of the nutritionists said they rated their confidence in the US food supply as either excellent or good, while slightly over 3% rated it as bad/terrible.

Eighty-two percent reported that they thought it was important to know what country their food was coming from. And when asked if they read labels to find out where their food was from, 69% agreed/strongly agreed that they did read labels.

"Our olive growers are currently very busy in the middle of harvest, so it is particularly gratifying to see appreciation for U.S. grown and produced product," said Christi Darling, executive director of the California Olive Industry, which conducted the survey.

There are approximately 975 California farmers whose olives are processed into California black ripe olives (the ones in the can) by two California canneries. The harvest started in September and is expected to be completed by the end of October. The size of this year's crop is projected to be 112,000 tons.

The internet based survey was answered by 843 American Dietetic Association members, during the week prior to the annual Food & Nutrition Conference, which took place in Philadelphia Sept 29 - Oct 3, 2007. These respondents represent more than 10% of the attending membership.