Food Protection Trends - May/June 2021 - 308

Opinions Inc. All participants met the selection criteria. The
focus group size ranged from 8 to 14 participants. Most
participants were women. Three men were among those
recruited through Opinions Inc., and four men were among
those recruited from Sacramento State. The college students
were predominately in the 18 to 24 age range, whereas age
was distributed widely among the Opinions Inc. consumers.
Most of the Opinions Inc. group had completed at least
some college. Their income ranged from less than $20,000
a year to over $150,000 (Table 1). Except where specified,
participants from the professionally recruited focus group
and the student participants expressed similar views about
each topic discussed.
Participant sources of information about healthy eating
The internet was by far the most common source of
information about healthy eating. Most participants googled
a term and read the results. Several participants described
WebMD as reliable, and MyFitnessPal app (21) was also
mentioned as a useful source of information. Some college
students reported that they would write a note to their

physician, or contact their fitness coach or personal trainer,
if they had a food or healthy eating question. Both students
and professionally recruited participants sourced information
from food labels, magazines, and clerks at health food stores.
Few sought information from government agencies, such
as the FDA or the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA). No
one mentioned searching food companies' websites for
information about food or health. Two participants from
one of the professionally recruited focus groups regarded
information from sources that promote the use of raw milk,
Mother Earth News (20) and The Weston A. Price Foundation
(38), as highly credible. Several participants said they favored
minimally processed " organic " foods. Participants were
skeptical of articles by marketing agencies. Most considered
TV personalities to be paid advertisers and, therefore, did not
trust statements from those personalities.
When asked how they would resolve conflicting information, participants said they would check additional information
sources to see whether the negative information was reported
widely. Several also mentioned they would listen to their
bodies: if they had been eating something all their life with-

TABLE 1. Demographic characteristics of participants in a study of consumer
preferences related to labeling of processing aids in orange juice
Opinion Inc. consumers
N = 25

College students
N = 33

All participants
N = 58

0
6
2
1
7
2
2
5

25
5
1
0
2
0
0
0

25
11
3
1
9
2
2
5

5
13
7

0
33
0

5
46
7

1
9
7
1
3
4

15
6
5
2
1
4

16
15
12
3
4
8

Age (yr)
18-24
25-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
Education
High school
Some college
College graduate
Income per year (US$)
< 20 thousand
20-40 thousand
40-60 thousand
60-80 thousand
80-100 thousand
Over 100 thousand

308

Food Protection Trends May/June

Food Protection Trends - May/June 2021

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