Everybody needs to eat to have energy to sustain life. As a result, food is a necessity, but some people enjoy eating so much that they consider it a hobby or a pastime. The 21st century has seen great population growth and extremely busy lifestyles, making the availability of food all the more critical. Busy lives and not enough time to cook from scratch have made it so that most people no longer go home and cook a meal for themselves and their families.[1] Without the ability to put in the time to cook, Americans are resorting to convenience foods. The most common form of convenience eating is snacking. Over the years, snacking has taken on many different definitions, but snacks were originally intended to be smaller portions of food eaten to fight off hunger between meals. The concept of three square meals daily is becoming obsolete because nowadays people snack for reasons besides feeling hungry, such as getting rid of cravings, staving off boredom, improving metabolic rates, alleviating stress, boosting nutrient intake, controlling weight, and simply because they believe that eating often is good for one’s health.[2] Other reasons people may choose to snack are celebrations and special occasions.[3] It has also now been estimated that 94 percent of people living in the United States consume one or more snacks every day.[4] Because snacking has become so popular in recent years, this article will focus on popular trends in the food industry as well as quality and safety issues that may result from these new trends.
Snacking Trends Responsible Snacking
Recent trends in snacking demonstrate how this concept has really evolved in recent years. First, as described by Forbes,[4] most consumers, especially the millennials, often feel responsible for what they do for themselves as well as their community and the planet. When deciding to purchase snacks, people typically ask themselves if what they buy will better themselves or the communities they represent. As a result, consumers are choosing to snack on foods that are clean, organic, less processed, contain fewer ingredients, lack genetically modified organisms, additives, or antibiotics, and are locally grown even if the snack costs more money. There have also been snacking trends associated with certain times of the day such as consuming healthy, energizing, and light snacks in the morning and eating sweet and savory snacks in the evening.[4]