Washington, DC, July 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For the first time in the two-decade history of the IFIC Food & Health Survey, convenience has surpassed healthfulness as a driver of Americans’ food and beverage decisions, a milestone that signals just how much the everyday calculus of eating may be changing. Now in its 21st consecutive year, the annual survey from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) tracks how Americans think about food, nutrition, and health, and the role those factors, among others, play in what ends up in the grocery cart and on our plates. This year also marks a first: a Canadian sample was included to enable cross-border comparisons between U.S. and Canadian consumers.
The 2026 findings arrive amid a fast-moving food environment—shaped by economic pressure, a rapidly shifting information landscape, and the growing influence of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement—that is reframing how Americans define “healthy” food, with high familiarity of the new Food Pyramid and terms like “ultraprocessed foods”.
“Every year the IFIC Food & Health Survey gives us a read on where Americans truly are, and what we see is a meaningful shift in how people view their food and make decisions,” said IFIC President & CEO Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN. “In 2026, we find a public whose definition of ‘healthy’ is expanding beyond nutrition. Fresh, natural, the presence or absence of ingredients, as well as how much a food has been processed have all risen in prominence.”
Convenience Outranks Healthfulness: A First In 21 Years
For 20 straight years, the rank order of what shapes Americans’ food and beverage decisions held firm: taste, followed by price, healthfulness, convenience, and environmental sustainability. This year, taste (88%) and price (78%) remain two dominant and increasing forces, with convenience (61%) edging out healthfulness (56%) for the first time in the survey’s history. Environmental sustainability (30%) remains the least influential of the five factors.
The durability of taste and price is no surprise—but the rise of convenience suggests that ease, time, and practicality have become especially important in a moment defined by economic pressure, busy lives, and competing priorities.
“Fresh” Is Back On Top – And “Low In Sugar” Falls Out Of The Top Three
When Americans are asked to define what makes a food healthy, “fresh” reclaimed the number one spot (40%), while “low in sugar” dropped out of the top three for the first time. Rounding out the top five: “fresh” is followed by “good source of protein” (33%), “good source of nutrients” (31%), “low in sugar” (29%), and “natural” (28%).
“The bigger story is the multi-year trend,” explained IFIC Senior Director, Research & Consumer Insights, Kris Sollid, RD. Since 2022, the criteria climbing fastest point in a similar direction: toward ingredients and processing. “Limited or no artificial ingredients or preservatives” jumped ten spots (+10%), “limited number of ingredients” rose three spots (+7%), and “minimal or no processing” gained three spots (+6%).
“This doesn’t mean nutrients no longer matter—they do,” said Sollid. “What the trend tells us is that Americans are increasingly layering new questions on top of old ones. It’s no longer just ‘how much sugar is in this?’ It’s also ‘what type of ingredients are in this and how much has this been processed?’”
High Familiarity With The New Food Pyramid
Within three months of its introduction, 83% of Americans report having seen the new Food Pyramid, higher than reported familiarity to the MyPlate graphic in the two prior years (76% in 2024 and 77% in 2025).
But awareness and understanding are not the same thing. While 83% have seen the new Food Pyramid, far fewer Americans (54%) say they know at least a fair amount about it—closely in line with reported knowledge of MyPlate in 2024 (54%) and 2025 (53%). While the Food Pyramid is the visual representation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, knowledge of the Guidelines themselves sits at just 42% in 2026.
“The awareness to action gap is worth watching,” added Sollid. “Awareness of a graphic that represents dietary recommendations does not, on its own, translate into deeper understanding, improved diet quality, or adoption of its key principles.”
“Ultraprocessed” Enters Everyday Vernacular
Few terms have become more entrenched in the mainstream public dialogue in recent years than “ultraprocessed food.” In 2026, 52% of Americans say they are familiar with “ultraprocessed food”—an 8-point jump from 2025 and a striking 20-point jump from 2024. And when deciding whether a food qualifies, most reach first for the package: 56% would consult the ingredients list and 51% the Nutrition Facts label.
But Americans are increasingly looking to other tools to the question as well. Compared with last year, more say they’d rely on their own judgment (23%, up 12 points), ask an AI assistant (23%, up 5 points), or turn to a friend or family member (11%, up 3 points) to identify whether a food is ultaprocessed.
“The rapid rise of ‘ultraprocessed’ shows how far and wide terminology can travel in today’s dialogue,” said Reinhardt Kapsak. “Still, familiarity with a term is not the same as a shared understanding of what it means or its application. As people blend label reading with personal judgment, social input, and even AI, the need for clear, credible, science-based guidance has never been greater.”
View the full survey here.
About the 2026 IFIC Food & Health Survey
For more than two decades, the IFIC Food & Health Survey has tracked how Americans think about food, nutrition, health, and the role these factors play in food decisions. Throughout the rest of the year, IFIC is implementing a rolling release, reporting salient insights from portions the 2026 IFIC Food & Health Survey.
2026 IFIC Food & Health Survey Research Methodology
The International Food Information Council (IFIC) commissioned an online survey among U.S. and Canadian consumers to measure knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about food, nutrition, health, and the role these factors play in food decisions. Three thousand five U.S. adults (n=3005) ages 18 to 80 years completed the online survey from March 22-April 8, 2026. One thousand six Canadian adults (n=1006) ages 18 to 80 years completed the online survey from March 27-April 8, 2026. Results from each country’s sample were weighted separately to reflect their national population demographics, using the 2025 Current Population Survey for the U.S. sample and the 2021 Statistics Canada Census for the Canadian sample. Specifically, results were weighted by age, education, gender, race/ethnicity, and region.
Jenny Phillips International Food Information Council Foundation 5857478717 phillips@ific.org
