Food Protection Trends - January/February 2015 - 34

there is no current replacement for BPA. Conversely, if
unsubstantiated claims by consumer advocacy groups or
health bloggers surface about an approved food additive,
food industry organizations should encourage proactive
public information on the safety assessment and benefits
of the chemical. Based on tested information formats
in our survey, results show that a Q & A-style fact sheet
would be the best way to communicate this type of
information to consumers.
The respondents' responses to specific messages
(about BPA and acrylamide) analyzed in the study are
somewhat troubling. Eighty percent of the respondents
stated that they understood the content of the messages,
yet respondents tended to reject messages that lacked
certainty. Specifically, consumers seem to value declarative
packaging messages (e.g., "no nitrates"), but are less
influenced by messages suggesting possible long-term
consequences. These observations further support the
finding that although respondents are concerned about
potential long-term consequences, they are not firmly
committed to basing current decisions on that trepidation.
Consumer confidence in the safety of the food supply
and in the government's ability to protect the safety of
food remains high, at 70% (8). Nevertheless, over time,
consumer confidence may decrease if consumer anxiety
about chemicals in food increases without targeted,
consistent, and proactive communication.
CONCLUSIONS
From the perspective of health literacy, these findings
suggest certain communication challenges, one of which
is the low willingness of consumers to accept messages
that express uncertainty. Another is the willingness of
consumers to overlook risk based on other, more pressing
contextual variables about the product. Many health
educators aspire to reach the shared level of dialogue
advocated by Palenchar, Heath, and Orberton (11), and
by Slovic (13). To do so, they will need to account for the
priority system consumers apply to their food purchasing
habits. An increased recognition that consumers evaluate
risk through different lenses will allow health educators
to adjust current communication strategies to reflect how
consumers evaluate risk. Successfully communicating
risks will depend on the ability of organizations engaged
in health communication to develop materials that meet
the needs of the target audience. This strategy might entail
providing more information on the benefits of certain
chemicals, using persuasion to alter existing consumer
priority systems, refuting misinformation, and conducting
more work to understand the relationship of differences in
race/ethnicity to risk perception.

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Food Protection Trends

January/February

The literature has demonstrated that meaning occurs
when consumers share concerns with the scientific
community and when information is accessible, available,
and accurate. Unfortunately, chemical risks were not
understood by participants in this study. The entire food
information continuum (e.g., media, the food industry, and
food producers, as well as individual competencies about
food) leaves consumers to form their own perceptions
about ingredients and health outcomes, which they must
do without backgrounds in food science or health, based
on often one-sided information available to them. Rather
than passively relying on consumers to research product
ingredients, the food industry may benefit from explaining
the purpose and benefit of components added to their
products. In addition, information on both detrimental and
beneficial chemicals may ease consumer uncertainty and
worry, which could improve decision making.
Initially, objectives for this project included the need
to identify the key factors that influence those persons
responsible for purchasing food for their families. The study
has shown that the decision-making process is multifaceted
and that it occasionally (though not always) takes added
chemicals in food into account. Second, communication
objectives for future work are identified in the survey.
Results suggest that the Q & A format for imparting
chemical information is preferable to a more conventional
narrative. Additionally, this study tested keywords, phrases,
and concepts that will be implemented and tested again in
the future. Finally, an analysis of how the Internet influences
food purchasing decisions needs to be conducted. Future
steps may be to identify and evaluate prominent Internet
sources used during information seeking. This knowledge
could identify Internet opinion leaders and citation
material. A better appreciation of the decision-making
process used in making food choices for individuals and
their families is important in helping the public make
informed decisions. Reducing chasms between laypersons
and the scientific community is the first step in minimizing
unfounded and unnecessary gaps in risk perception.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The International Food Information Council (IFIC)
Foundation acknowledges the following people for their
insights, reviews, comments, and guidance through the
review process of publishing this article: Robert Gravani,
Ph.D., Chair, IFIC Foundation Board of Trustees, Cornell
University; Christine Bruhn, Ph.D., University of California
at Davis; and Artemis Strategy Group (www.Artemissg.
com), a communications strategy research firm specializing
in brand positioning and policy issues.
http://www.Artemissg.com http://www.Artemissg.com
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