Nutrition News & Views

August 1, 1999
A Shakespearean Decision in the Supermarket (Part I)-August 1999/No.1

To buy or not to buy a certain product. That is the question. Is it nobler to prepare a meal completely from scratch, or pull together pre-washed or cut vegetables, prepared sauce and other conveniences to shorten preparation and cooking time and get on with your life?

This is an age-old question faced by people for decades. Our great, great grandparents had to decide whether to buy store bread or make it at home. Mothers faced the box or "made from scratch" question. Then, freeze-dried coffee hit the market, and people had to decide between percolated coffee and the newer version. These are decisions that most consumers do not even think twice about today.

Over 70 percent of married women in their childbearing years are now in the labor force. Although men are playing a more active role in food purchase and preparation, women still take the lead in over 85 percent of the cooking and 90 percent of the shopping. Whether people are employed outside the home or not, time demands are high. Now, consumer choice is even greater with fresh pasta, a variety of washed, cut and peeled vegetables, and many convenient sauces and fully or partially prepared entrees and side dishes. The broad-based food and supermarket industries have greatly reduced some of the labor involved in meal preparation because people want to increase discretionary time.

Most people are finding they have less, not more, time. These time-starved consumers are eating out or turning to their supermarkets not only for convenient and nutritious food but also for help in preparing meals. More and more consumers are turning to "meal solutions" to help them balance the demands of their lives. According to a 1998 Shopping for Health report prepared by the Food Marketing Institute and PREVENTION magazine, nearly three-fourths (73%) of shoppers have purchased prepared foods, such as deli salads or pre-cooked entrees, in a supermarket. This figure has increased from 68 percent in 1997 and 65 percent in 1996.

"Consumers' desire to take charge of their health extends to their need for convenient, nutritious, food-to-go," said Ed Slaughter, director of research for PREVENTION magazine. "They are also looking for information and guidance to help them make decisions that will promote their health."

"Meal solutions" are supermarkets' answer to "what's for dinner" when the consumer enters the store at 5:00 p.m., as well as their response to consumer demands for variety and convenience. Examples include recipe cards displayed at appropriate locations, such as a recipe for meat loaf at the meat counter; or grouping food products together, such as tortilla shells, refried beans, salsa and cut lettuce for a quick Mexican dinner. Other ways supermarkets are trying to assist busy consumers are with ready-to-cook items (marinated poultry or pre-washed broccoli florets) and ready-to-heat items (vegetable lasagna or meat ravioli).

Source: Food Insight, International Food Information Council Foundation, May/June 1999

Submitted by Catherine Green, MSU Dietetic Intern
Distributed by Barbara McLaurin, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., Human Nutrition Specialist, MSU Extension Service, August 1999

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