UDC 338.439.63:663/664-049.5(73)

Consumer Acceptance and Willingness  to Purchase Irradiated Foods in the United States

Julie A. Albrecht, Ph.D., R.D.*
Universityof Nebraska-Lincoln
Department ofNutrition andHealth Sciences
119 Ruth Leverton Hall
Lincoln, NE 68583-0807

Keywords
irradiated meat, consumer acceptance, survey.

Julie A. Albrecht. Consumer Acceptance and Willingness to Purchase Irradiated Foods in the United States

Objective:To determine consumer acceptance of food irradiation and willingness to purchase irradiated foods, increase consumer knowledge of irradiatedfoods and determine theimpact ofan educational component on consumer attitudes byutilizingthe Targeting Outcomes of Programs (TOP) hierarchy.
Design: Consumers completed a sur vey consisting of food safety information and the acceptance and willingness to purchase irradiated meat. The educational component included a display explaining food irradiation and two brochureswere available.
Setting: The educational and research program was conducted in grocer y stores and a large communit y event on separate Saturdays Par ticipants: Two-hundred fi fty-one consumers participated in the initial survey and 77participated in the follow-up sur vey. Main Outcome Measure: Initial sur vey, follow-up sur vey and taste test sur vey.
Analysis: Frequency distribution, t-test, Chi Square and the Bonferroni formula procedures in SAS.
Results: Awareness of irradiated food products increased from 14% to 56% (p<0.05). Signifi cant differences (p < 0.05) were found among correct (85%) to incorrect (15%) answers in the knowledge sur vey. From the follow-up sur vey, a 14% (p < 0.05) increase of participants was either likely or ver y likely to purchase irradiated food if it was available at their supermarket. Also 83% agreed or strongly agreed that they were more comfortable purchasing andusing irradiatedmeat as compared to 63% from the initial survey. Conclusions and Implications: The educational program, based on Bennett=s Hierarchy for Targeting Outcomes of Programs, increased consumer acceptanceof irradiated meat.

References

1. US Dept of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health.2nd ed. Washington,DC:US Government Printing Offi ce.2000.
2. Mead PS, Slutsker L, Dietz V , McCaig LF , Bresee JS, Shapiro C, Griffi n PM and T auxe RV . Food-relatedillness and death in theUnitedStates. Emer Infect Dis. 1999;5:607-625.
3. Frenzen PD, Majchrowicz A, Buzby JC, Imhoff B and the FoodNet Working Group. Consumer acceptance of irradiated meat and poultry products. Agricultural Information Bull. 757. US Dept of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Washington, D.C. 2000.
4. Altekruse SF , Yang, S, Timbo BB and Angulo FJ. A multi-state survey of consumer food handling and food-consumption practices. Am J Prev Med. 1999;16:216-221.
5. Instituteof Food T echnologists’ Expert Panel on Food Safety and Nutrition. Foodborne illness:role ofhome food handling practices. Food T echnol. 1995;49:119-131.
6. KlontzKC, Timbo B, Fein S, andLevy A. Prevalenceofselected food consumption and preparation behaviors associated with increased risks of food-borne disease. J Food Prot. 1995;58:927-930.
7. Patil SR, Cates S and Morales R. Consumer food safety knowledge, practices, and demographic differences: Findings from a meta-analysis. J Food Prot. 2005;68:1884-1894.
8. Altekruse SF , Street DA, Fein SB and Levy AS. Consumer knowledge of foodborne microbial hazardsand food-handlingpractices. J Food Prot. 1996;59:287-294.
9. Carlton J. Some diners have a beef: pink burgers a rare fi nd. Wall Street Journal. 1999;234:1-5.
10. US General Accounting Offi ce. Food Irradiation: Available research indicates that benefi ts outweigh risks. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO/RCED-00-217. 2000;7:21.
11. Morrison RM, Buzby JC, and Lin C- TJ. Irradiating ground beef to enhance food safety. Food Safety. 1997;33-37.
12. Buzby JC and Morrison RM. Food irradiation—an update. Food Review. 1999;22:21-22.
13. Frenzen PD, DeBess EE, Hechemy KE, Kassenborg H, Kennedy M, McCombs K, McNees A and the FoodNet Working Group. Consumer acceptance of irradiated meat and poultry in the United States. J Food Prot.2001;64:2020-2026.
14. Food Marketing Institute. Trends in the United States: Consumer attitudes and the supermarket. FoodMarketing Institute, Washington, D.C. 1997.
15. Johnson AD, Renolds AEl Chen J and Resurreccion, AVA. Consumer attitudes towards irradiated food: 2003 vs. 1993. Food Prot T rends 2004;24:408-418.
16. FoxJA. Infl uences on purchase of irradiated foods. Food T echnol. 2002;56:34-37.
17. Lusk JL, Fox JA and McIlvain CL. Consumer acceptance of irradiated meat. Food T echnol. 1999;53:56-59.
18. Vickers ZM and Wang J. Liking of ground beef patties is not affected by irradiation. J Food Sci. 2002;67:380-383.
19. Electric Power Research Institute. Food Industry Currents. 1998;2:1-8.
20. Center for Consumer Research. Foodirradiation. Universityof California, Davishttp://ccr .ucdavis.edu/irr Accessed September 2003.
21. Hollingsworth P . Consumer approval of irradiated meat still tentative. Food T echnol. 1998;52:24.
22. Resurreccion A. and Galvez FCF . Will consumers buy irradiated beef? Food T echnol. 1999;53:52-55.
23. Bruhn CM, SchutzHG,and Sommer R. Attitude change toward food irradiation among conventional and alternative consumers. Food T echnol. 1986;40:86-91.
24. Zienkewicz LSH and Penner K.Consumers’ perceptions of irradiated ground beef after education andproduct exposure. FoodProt Trends. 2004; 24:740-745.
25. Bennett C and Rockwell K. T argeting outcomes of programs (TOP): An integrated
approach to planning and evaluation. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska. http://citnews.unl.edu/TOP/english/.Accessed March 2004.
26. Dillman DA. Mail and T elephone Surveys: The T otal Design Method. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 1978.
27. Rickey K and Younce JB. Food Irradiation: Ensuring Your Food’s Safety. CFS-722-W. Purdue University. http://www.ces.purdue.edu/cfs/programs/irradiation/index.htm. Accessed August 2006.

Джулія Олбрайт. Споживчі потреби і купівельна здатність купувати опромінені харчові продукти в Сполучених Штатах.
Ця стаття описує освітній / дослідний проект, який дає можливість неформального ознайомлення споживачів з основними техніками безпеки обробки яловичого фаршу. Дослідження надає можливість визначити потреби спожива- чів та їх купівельну спроможність придбання описаних продуктів.

Джулия Олбрайт. Потребительские потребности и покупательская способность приобретать облученные пищевые продукты в Соединенных Штатах.
Эта статья описывает образовательный / исследовательский проект, который дает возможность неформального ознакомления потребителей с основными техниками безопасности обработки говяжьего фарша. Исследование предоставляет возможность определить потребности потребителей и их покупательскую способность приобретения описанных продуктов.