Last month at the IFT industry tradeshow, experts discussed how the recession is affecting healthful foods… Consumers are showing more interest in foods that address particular health issues, for example heart health, vision problems, or arthritis, just to name a few, and vegetarian food products can clearly fulfill these demands.

A new study sponosored by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) ranks the overall humanity of U.S. grocery stores by assessing the availability of humanely labeled foods within each chain, including retail chains and wholesale membership clubs.

The most recent studies on consumer eating habits show that while healthy foods are clearly on the radar for many consumers, they aren’t always the first choice — at least when dining out. According to the recently released NPD Group report, A Look into the Future of Eating, healthy foods are expected to grow significantly over the next ten years.

In a newly released study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers identified a link between a high fat diet and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. More specifically, researchers found that diets high in fat originating from animal origins (meat and dairy products) were more highly associated with the risk.

A new study of over 36,000 Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) panelists shows that coupons still attract a great deal of attention from American consumers, though different methods of distribution tend to attract different age groups. Older consumers tend to clip coupons from traditional print media such as newspapers, while younger consumers respond more to online media.