Claiming confidence: U.S. consumer trust in meat and poultry claims

In the fall of 2024, the Food Safety and Inspection Service updated its guidelines for verifying animal-raising and environment-related claims used on meat and poultry products. Notably, revisions strongly emphasized the inclusion of third-party certifications in the supporting documents. Recent inquiries into claim validity, however, have uncovered improper approvals and compliance issues, prompting increased concerns regarding consumer confidence. This study examined consumer trust across nine claim categories explicitly defined within the guidelines. Data were collected from 1,485 respondents through a web-based survey. A best-worst scaling approach identified the most and least trusted claim categories; these data were analyzed for the entire sample and stratified by household shopping roles and meat consumption frequency. Additional questions assessed knowledge of and trust in certifying agencies (eg, U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA]) and third-party certifiers. The results reveal varying levels of trust, with consumers trusting breed and source/traceability claims most, whereas trust in animal welfare and environment-related claims was lowest. Nonetheless, all nine claim categories received generally low levels of trust. Household food-shopping roles and meat-consumption frequency had little impact on trust. Findings also show that consumers primarily trust the USDA to certify claims, and third-party certifications can enhance trust. This study offers new, quantified insights into consumer trust in food claims for meat and poultry products. While addressing trust issues, the results can guide efforts to improve consumer confidence in animal-raising and environment-related claims through targeted interventions and better labeling practices.