Take the opportunity to know what French people like to eat and their new food style!
French eating habits: What French people eat
To be successful on the French food market, you can’t ignore the French traditional, regional food heritage. This is the 1st part of a large article dealing with French eating style and changes, not to ingore.
Food and drink exporters have to be aware of the traditional, and current eating patterns.
Know French eating style
Eating as a social activity
If you know the eating food patterns of your end consumer you can adapt to better face competition. In France eating is as a social activity, in family or at work.
French traditional eating pattern is changing while fragmenting. French take a limited number of meals a day with 3.9 as an average, according to a 2012 survey. Yet snacking is soaring (1 % rise)..
More and more peoplee have at least one meal a day out-of-home in canteens, cafeterias, or they have a lunch-box.
Example of a Lunch formula in a French bakery
Many buy a formule at a bakery (sandwich, pastry or fruit salad, soft drink) and stop in a park with colleagues.
What do French people eat?
The French eat more meat and fish (20%) and drink more alcohol than in the rest of Europe. Bread is essential: a bread basket is always present on the table. Various type of bread explained here
Bread is a key element on French tables
French tables offer a large choice of food. The composition of meal changes a lot compared with other food patterns in Europe.
Yet the traditional three course habit tends to disappear: starter, main meal and desert. People use to skip the main meal when they choose starter –usually a mixed salad- followed by a desert.
Meals, at home v/s out-of-home
In France diner is the most important meal, especially because it is shared at home with family. Meals are mainly prepared by women (90 %). Presently about 1 out of 5 meals is taken away from home, more often it is the case for lunch. Going to restaurants is not a deeply anchored habit.
French nutrition and healthy guidelines
Health is a hot topic in France, too. The following issues are often debated:
- nutrition and health obesity,
- foodborne diseases,
- heart and vascular diseases.
Restaurants, catering businesses, food and drink providers must follow several guidelines and good practices.
Healthy nutrition habits
According to a 2006 survey the French are not obedient. Less than 50% of the French population respect the recommendations of the NNHP (French National Nutrition and Health Program). Read more about French PNNS
Campaign encouraging French population to adopt healthy food habits and to practise physical exercices
This program was developed in 2001 by French Health authorities. It deals, among others, with the number and the size of the portions of the following items:
- Fruit and vegetables
- Dairy products
- Starchy foods
- Meat
- Poultry
- Fish
- Eggs
- Sweet products
- Salt and
- Water
Added fat
Since out-of-home meals are more frequent, the catering industry must to take into account the recommended nutritional intakes. For example, French authorities and the GEM-RCN (Groupement d’Etude des Marchés en Restauration Collective et de Nutrition) have elaborated recommendations in terms of frequencies and portions of served foodstuffs for each type of population –early childhood, school environment, elderlies, and prison environment. This includes:
- More fruit and vegetables, more starchy foods, more fresh produce to provide enough vitamins,
- Less fat intake to restore the balance fatty acid consumption,
- Less added carbohydrates,
- More iron intake,
- More calcic intake.
The 2nd part of the article will be available within a fortnight. The following items will be dealt with:
- Food budget in French households,
- Significant trends in food and beverages consumption,
- New life style and l’art de vivre à la française.
