The survey found that 84% of shoppers look for details about whether packaging can be recycled before anything else.
This compares with 80% of shoppers looking for the product's salt content, and 79% who check how much sugar is in the food they are buying. Calorie content trails behind, with 70% of people saying that they check food labels for this information.
The results of Mintel's survey comes as the major supermarket chains, along with food makers and the industry body Wrap, join forces to introduce a standardised system for explaining what can be recycled -- given that not all councils will accept the same items for recycling.
Many supermarkets, including Sainsbury's, continue to pack their food in packaging that is not recyclable.
David Bird, senior consumer analyst at Mintel, said that the change in habits by consumers reflected the success of the food lobby in getting people to think about how their food is packaged.
He said: "With legislation such as 'pay as you throw' being mooted for the future, it would seem that people's interest in recyclable packaging is only set increase.
"But one of the major issues here is that consumers are currently bombarded with a host of different recycling labels on food packaging.
"To encourage more consumers to recycle more often, it needs to be as simple as possible for everyone to sort out what packaging can be recycled and what can't."
The consumer research is based on a sample of 1,000 internet users aged 16 and over.