Consumers give high marks to food and Heinz

Consumer satisfaction with manufactured food products rose 1 percentage point to a score of 82 in the third quarter, making it one of the highlights of the University of Michigan's American Consumer Satisfaction Index.The overall ACSI, a predictor of future consumer spending, increased 0.1 percent to 73.2 in the quarter, with increases in food, beer and cigarettes offsetting declines in athletic shoes and pet food.Food continued to be one of the most stable and high-scoring industries in the index. H.J. Heinz is the top-scoring company, followed by Quaker Foods, Hershey and ConAgra.