Consumer Responses to Food Safety Information Should Be a Concern

May 2002
Mark Wade, Ph.D. - Indian River Research & Education Center, Assistant Professor

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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