ROME - Candies, biscuits, flavored waters enriched with zinc, white meats with iodine, frankfurters, cold cuts and cheeses without polyphosphates, or without milk or eggs.
The products we buy at the supermarket change and our choice is dictated by what we read on the label, always with greater attention, to orient ourselves towards the products considered healthier.
According to an analysis by the Immagino GS1 Italy Observatory which "scanned" the labels of over 115 thousand products sold in Italy, not only detecting the most widespread and consolidated indications, but also the emerging claims that are becoming increasingly popular.
In the 12 months analyzed, the claims relating to two "baskets" and eating styles: free from and rich-in grew the most.
In the world of free from, there is an increase in products that appear to be free of polyphosphates, or of milk or eggs.
On the other hand, in the rich-in area, it is mainly products that show that they contain iodine, zinc or magnesium.
In particular, sales of "polyphosphate-free" products grew by + 8.9% on an annual basis, especially in cold cuts, sausages, diced cured meats and sliced cheeses.
Significant increase in sell-out also for products that indicate that they are milk-free on the label (+ 11.9%), in particular sausages, multipack vegetable ice creams and sandwiches for hamburgers or hot dogs.
As for the "egg-free" (+ 2.0%), it mainly involves gluten-free pasta, healthy biscuits and mayonnaise.
On the rich-in side, the references that underline the presence of iodine on the label recorded an annual jump in sales of + 9.5% thanks above all to elaborate white meats (such as cutlets and cordon bleu), tomato purée and rusks .
Good performance also for products with a high zinc content (+ 5.1%), in particular for supplements, candies, biscuits, flavored waters and dried fruit.
Two-speed trend for products that report the presence of magnesium: the decline in annual turnover (-1.7%) is due to the decline in supplements only partially offset by the interesting growth of foods with the claim "source of magnesium", such as wholemeal or multigrain biscuits, and seeds.