KANSAS CITY — As food and beverage manufactures  have embraced transparency and disclosed more about how products are formulated and processed, consumer concerns about the use of ingredients once perceived negatively appear to be easing. This shift represents a promising development, especially as new production technologies like precision fermentation, the cultivation of meats from animal cells and 3D printing emerge and gain momentum.

Julie Johnson, president of the market researcher HealthFocus International, said the trend demonstrates how consumers are evolving from clean label eating to clean-conscious eating during an Aug. 23 webinar produced by Food Business News.

“ … There is a positive side to consumers’ views of food processing, and it involves the use of science and technology in production of foods and beverages,” Ms. Johnson said. “What may have been a bit foreign and a bit scary to people may become broadly embraced by consumers who understand what technological advances in the manufacturing of it can actually deliver for them.”

A 2023 HealthFocus International study asked consumers in the United States how acceptable they would find the use of science and technology in the production of foods and beverages if it could improve the product in a certain way. Sixty-three percent of respondents voiced support for technology that boosts food security such as improving access to affordable and nutritious food, 59% were open to technology that makes products more ethical with animal welfare being an example, and 58% were in support of finding ways to make products more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Ms. Johnson added that some unrecognizable ingredients have become less villainized if they can provide an attribute or function that makes them necessary.

The renewed comfort of some consumers with science and technology comes at a time when several new production technologies are on the cusp of mainstream use in food and beverage. Precision fermentation, for example, is being used to produce a range of ingredients with unique attributes.

While precision fermentation is common in other industries, its use in food production is relatively new and unknown to many consumers. A survey by The Hartman Group in 2022 that generated more than 2,300 responses showed only 11% said they knew a lot about precision fermentation while 19% said they knew a little and 23% said they had heard about it but did not know much. Showing consumers benefits the technology may confer to the environment and animal welfare could be crucial to future consumer perception.

A similar scenario may be developing around the manufacturing and distribution of cultivated meats. The idea of meat made in a lab may not resonate positively with some consumers, but HealthFocus International’s research shows consumers are willing to change their views with additional information and context.

Progress in food and beverage product development to meet the needs of a growing global population and help mitigate the impact of climate change will not be achieved by trying to develop products closer to nature. It will be achieved through technologies that help address such problems directly. Reaching that goal will require even greater transparency and disclosure about how products are produced and manufactured.