South
Florida
Beef -
Forage
Program
"Article of the Month"
May 2002
Consumer Responses to Food Safety Information Should be a Concern
Mark Wade, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Indian River Research and Education Center, University of Florida
In a book by Michael Schudson, Advertising: The Uneasy Persuasion, concepts of information, advertising, and
consumer and economic theory are brought together with the recognition that consumers do not associate decision
making with a specific, singular process. Consumers operate in an "information environment" which recognizes
that normal consumers have a lifetime of informational resources and a complex cognitive makeup which either
increases, decreases or eliminates completely that individual's ability to receive and process information.
Consumers are surrounded by information that does not come openly from commercial sources and may not stem from
commercial sources at all. Information in the media regarding a product may not be paid advertising. Some
will be generated from commercial public relations firms, government reports, consumer groups, journalists,
universities, and other noncommercial agencies.
The news media can provide a great deal of information when the subject becomes an issue of political or social
interest - when it becomes "newsworthy." News organizations cover topics and products that make news. Food
irradiation, micro-pathogen contaminated beef, beef patty recalls, BSE, and foot and mouth become more newsworthy
as consumers die, which increases air time or column space devoted to these topics.
The media also provides a critical, but less sensational role, in consumer information by informing consumers of
new products and trends in consumption. It is doubtful that consumption of sushi, tofu, and similar products would
exist without media coverage.
In addition to media sources, taxpayer funded consumer education programs provide consumer education to the public.
School system curricula, including home economics and foods classes, provide information to millions of children
and young adults annually. Recently, the National Pork Producers Council, Cattlemen's Beef Association, and
National Livestock and Meats Board sponsored consumer education programs in conjunction with the U. S. Department
of Agriculture in American junior and senior high schools. University research on such things as biotechnology,
governmental studies, and legislative activities on food safety and nutritional labeling, and nonprofit consumer
advocate groups all provide product and general information to the public.
Food safety information specifically, can be costly to gather and difficult to understand and relay to readers.
Scientific studies are often complex, contradictory and open for interpretation. The public frequently relies
on the media for information regarding their food purchases and consumption. The nation's media agenda may not
be strictly informational in nature because most media organizations are profit-seeking entities. As informational
reliance on the media has grown, concerns over possible misinformation, or bias, toward food and agricultural commodities
have also grown (Jones; Foster). As stated by Jones, "There is a tendency for consumer concerns about food safety
issues, however, to be exaggerated by the popular press."
A useful approach to a consumer's demand for a product holds that the consumers knowledge and perceptions of
attributes contained within the product condition demand. Information provided to consumers influence tastes
and preferences, and help to develop consumer perceptions of product flavor, convenience, cost, nutritional content
and other product characteristics. Perceptions of food safety and preferences toward food safety affect the demand
for food items.
An understanding of information, advertising, and consumer and economic theory is important because
of the major role information plays in efficient market operations. Even under the assumption that consumers
behave rationally, a lack of information, or misinformation regarding food safety will lead to market failure and
a reduction in public welfare.
REFERENCES
Foster, E.M., "Is There a Food Safety Crisis?," Food Technology 36.8 (1982): 82-83.
Jones, J.M., Food Safety, St. Paul, MN, Eagan Press, 1993.
Pember, Don R., Mass Media in America, 6th ed., New York, MacMillan Publishing Co., 1992.
Schudson, Michael, Advertising, The Uneasy Persuasion: It's Dubious Impact on American Society, New York, Basic Books,
Inc., 1984, pp. 90-128.
Toynbee, Arnold, Interviewed in "Is It Immoral to Stimulate Buying?," Printers' Ink, May 11, 1962, p. 43.
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