Consumer Response to Food Recalls
Existing data show that many consumers do not take appropriate protective actions during food recalls associated with outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 and other types of foodborne illness. According to government statistics, 41 percent of U.S. consmers say they have never looked for any recalled product in their home Conversely, some consumers overreact to the announcement of a food recall.
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In response to the 2006 fresh, bagged spinach recall which followed a multistate outbreak of E. coli O157: H7 infections, 18 percent of consumers said they stopped buying other bagged, fresh produce because of the spinach recall. The spinach E. coli outbreak killed three people and sickened more than 200 others. Of 102 victims who were hospitalized, 31 developed a dreaded disease known as E. coli HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome.
"The proposed study will assess consumers' emotional and cognitive recollection of certain food recalls and gauge how these recollections affect their current perceptions about food recalls and their inclination to adhere to future recommended food recall,'' the notice of the survey said.
