The 600 senior executives at food and consumer packaged goods companies who participated in the CIES Top of Mind Survey named the economy and consumer demand as the issue on which they were most focused. Just one year ago the economy ranked fourth in the survey.

Food safety ranked second, as it did in the 2009 version of the survey. Corporate responsibility—which includes sustainability—slipped from first in 2008 to third in 2009.

CIES, which describes itself as an "independent global food business network," says executives from 54 countries participated in the global survey. A full copy of the survey is available from Anne Malbrancq at a.malbrancq@ciesnet.com.

Also, look for Packaging World's special survey-based report on the economy coming in the March 2009 issue.