Robert O. Herrmann

Who reacts to food safety scares?: Examining the Alar crisis

The 1989 Alar crisis developed in the wake of television news reports on the dangers to children from consuming apples treated with Alar. These hazards received extensive media coverage over the following five months. This study investigated public reaction to the crisis. Awareness of the crisis was more common among older adults, those with more formal education, and those who reported more frequent television news viewing. Those who were aware of the crisis and reduced their use of apples and apple products had a different set of characteristics. Reduced use was more common among females, those 50 and under, and non-Whites. Reductions were not, however, more common among those who reported frequent television news viewing.

Ritson, Christopher, Leslie Gofton, and John McKenzie. The Food Consumer. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons, 1986, xi + 262 pp.,

Preface FOOD AND PEOPLE: Food and the Nation The Food People Eat Food and Nutrition WHY WE EAT: Economic Factors Influencing Food Choice Psychological Factors Influencing Food Choice Anthropological Factors Influencing Food Choice Sociological Factors Influencing Food Choice A Review of Our Current State of Knowledge PRESENTING FOOD: Researching the Food Consumer New Product Development Processing Index.

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Factors affecting the frequency of purchase of fish and other seafood for at-home and restaurant consumption by Northeastern consumers were investigated. Cluster analysis identified six groups of consumers with similar perceptions of the attributes of fish. Demographic and cluster membership variables were employed in logistic regressions to identify the characteristics of frequent at-home use and restaurant purchasers. At-home purchase was more likely to be frequent among respondents with white collar occupations, older ages, urban/suburban and New England residence, recreational fishing participation, and membership in one of five attitudinal clusters. Restaurant purchase was more likely to be frequent among whites and among those with higher incomes, white collar occupations, recreational fishing involvement and among members of two clusters with favorable attitudes toward fish; it was less likely to be frequent in households with children age 10 and under present.

IDENTIFYING FREQUENT SEAFOOD PURCHASERS IN THE NORTHEASTERN U.S.

Abstract A turnaround in U.S. seafood marketing occurred in the late 1980s. Per capita consumption declined following 1987 and prices weakened. Worsening market conditions led the Southeast and Northeast Regional Aquaculture Centers to undertake market studies. This studys early-1988 “baseline” results correspond within a few months of the peaking of consumer seafood demand in 1987. Cluster analysis characterized 5 distinct consumer profiles. The two most favorable profiles toward seafood were differentiated by alternative views of fish pricing: one group found fish inexpensive, the other, expensive. Another profile was identified by its dislike of sensory characteristics such as “boniness” and difficulty of preparation. The broad characterization that fish were nutritious and healthy was shared by 4 of the 5 consumer profiles, and represents a major marketing advantage for aquaculture producers. Frequent purchase behavior was shown to be critically important to sales of seafood, both for at-home and restaurant consumption. Patterns of frequent purchase differed by inland versus coastal regions. Logit regression analysis suggested that aquaculturalists target specific consumer profiles by recognizing unique characteristics of consumers, including income level, family size and presence of children, seasonality preferences, and other demographic factors. Consumer concerns about availability of fish and seafood indicate that supplying multiple species would likely be a marketing advantage. The study suggests that aquaculture firms will increasingly need to offset the widespread perception that fish have become “expensive” by highlighting nutritional value and other value-added attributes such as freshness, availability and quality.

Using consumer profiles to increase the U.S. market for seafood : implications for aquaculture

United States sales of seafood increased about 50% from the 1950s to a peak of 16.1 pounds per capita in 1987. Because of an accelerating rate of growth in the early 1980s, there were optimistic projections of 20 pounds per capita sales for the year 2000. These projections of increased consumption coincided with growing recognition of the nutritional advantages of seafood over other meats (National Research Council, Lees). However, instead of growing, consumption per capita has flattened, just as it had previously leveled off in the 1950s and 1960s (table 1). Seafood sales of about 15 pounds per capita are now a cause of concern to both wild-catch and aquaculture producers. Their concerns are heightened by the continuing gains in per capita consumption of pork, chicken, and turkey since 1987. In this paper key determinants of seafood demand in the United States are examined. Atten-

Determinants of Seafood Purchase Behavior: Consumers, Restaurants, and Grocery Stores

Past studies of household food expenditure suggest that the effect of income on expenditure varies among households of different sizes and in different urbanization and region categories. No systematic investigation has been made, however, of these or other interactions among the independent variables used to explain household food expenditures. In this study, data from the 1955 USDA Household Food Consumption Survey are examined through the use of a special program developed by Sonquist and Morgan for the detection of interaction effects. Important interactions affecting expenditures for food and beverages consumed at home were found between household size and income, between household size and urbanization, and among household size, urbanization, and income.

Interaction Effects and the Analysis of Household Food Expenditures

Abstract Dietary surveys of consumers frequently ask “How concerned are you about…?” when assessing food-related concerns. This conventional question form involves an assumption that respondents are concerned, or seems to suggest that they should be. Such questions also assume that the concerns expressed are based on relevant knowledge. One approach to overcoming the assumption of concern is to ask an initial filter question about whether the respondent is concerned. Those who express concern then can be asked how concerned they are. A filter question also can be used to determine respondents’ knowledge in order to deal with the assumption of awareness or knowledge. For this study, a national sample of respondents was randomly assigned to groups that were given alternative question forms. Their response patterns then were compared. One group was given the conventional question form asking how concerned they were about the amount of fat in the food they eat. A second group was given an initial question asking if they were concerned (concern filter); those who expressed concern then were asked their level of concern. A third group was given an initial question asking if they were aware of health problems caused by the amount of fat in the food they ate (awareness filter). Those who indicated they were aware were asked how concerned they were about their fat intake. Those given the conventional question form expressed significantly higher levels of concern than did those given the concern filter form or the awareness filter form. The comparison of the results for the first and second groups indicates that the conventional question form with its assumption of concern may encourage the overstatement of concerns. A comparison of the results for the first and third groups indicates that more respondents will indicate their lack of knowledge when asked a direct question with the awareness filter form than will volunteer such information with the conventional question form.