The Food Naturalness Index (FNI): An integrative tool to measure the degree of food naturalness

Abstract

Background: Consumers are increasingly demanding transparency in food labeling as they want more and better information about what they are eating and where their food comes from. This seems to be particularly the case for food naturalness. Several food indexes or metrics have been developed in the last decades to objectively measure various aspects of food, yet a comprehensive index that quantifies the naturalness of foods is still missing. Scope and Approach: In the absence of clear rules to define and measure food naturalness,this article describes the development of the Food Naturalness Index (FNI), which aims to accurately measure the degree of food naturalness. The FNI simultaneously integrates and builds on insights from consumer research, legal and technical perspectives. A preliminary assessment of the index with consumers across a wide variety of products was conducted. Key Findings and Conclusions: The FNI proposed herein is comprised of four component measures, namely farming practices, free from additives, free from unexpected ingredients, and degree of processing, which includes 10 relevant food naturalness attributes that can be consistently evaluated from information on the product label. The FNI scores were highly correlated with consumers’ 28perceptions of food naturalness. The FNI has the potential to become a valuable tool in the process of reformulating existing products, developing new ones, and understanding, tracking, and communicating food naturalness attributes in the marketplace. Furthermore, the FNI may provide an objective basis for the use of the “natural” label on food products, which can ultimately lead to better informed choice