October 11, 2006
E. Coli Scares Consumers into Shopping Differently
First it was spinach and now lettuce. Media reports of people coming down ill and in some cases dying from produce carrying E. coli bacteria has many consumers on edge.
Take Sue Clark, for example. “I know they’ve said it’s OK to buy fresh, but how do you know for sure?” she asked Linda Carroll, an editorial contributor to MSNBC.
Dr. Neil Fishman, an infection-control expert and associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said it does appear from reports as though food-related illnesses are on the rise but that may not be the case.
According to Dr. Fishman, a change in how incidents are reported may simply mean that cases that may have previously gone unreported are now being captured.
In the past, the government relied on doctors to make handwritten reports documenting cases where consumers became ill as a result of eating a certain food. “Historically,” said Dr. Fishman, “physicians haven’t done a great job of reporting diseases.”
Today, labs test foods and, when they find bacteria, they are required to automatically report it to state health authorities.
While the reporting process has become more reliable, consumers such as Sue Clark are left wondering what is safe to buy.
“I used to buy fresh spinach, but I’ve switched to frozen,” said the 42-year-old bus driver from Pilesgrove, NJ. “I heard on the news that canned and frozen are safe.”
There is also an added advantage to buying frozen, according to Ms. Clark. “Frozen lasts longer,” she said.
Carla Lape, from Salem, NJ, said, “I don’t buy lettuce or spinach from the grocery store any more. I go to the local farmer’s market because I know where the produce is coming from. We’re lucky to live in a county with such good local produce.”
Mary Fitton of Woodstown, NJ hasn’t changed her shopping habits with the E. coli reports but she said she is now making sure to take extra care in washing the produce she feeds her family.
“I heard a report this morning about the lettuce,” she said. “They said you can use soap. When you have small children, you have to worry more because this kind of thing affects them more harshly.”
Of the three approaches to dealing with produce safety, Susan Bowerman, assistant director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California at Los Angeles, advised following Susan Clark’s lead.
Frozen food processing makes them safe to eat, she said. “And from a nutritional standpoint, frozen can actually be superior to fresh. That’s because they are processed so quickly after they are picked.”
Discussion Questions: Do you think the recent reports of people becoming ill and in some cases dying after eating produce will change the shopping habits
of consumers? Will frozen vegetables, for example, get a sales lift out of this?
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Discussion Questions
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Yes, this will have a temporary impact on fresh food purchases. However, the E. Coli threat has always been here. Consumers in the US demand fresh lettuce and spinach. It is a part of our diet and an American staple (especially in salads). These “scares” only call out for better handling of the food, as well as storage. This makes our system more efficient, safer and successful. Our foods become healthier and everyone benefits. It is all part of the circle of life!
Stores that are able to present themselves as “authorities” have a lot of advantages. In this case, with well presented information about the safety and benefits of frozen produce they may maintain and even gain sales while providing a valuable service to their shoppers. The key is timely and visually attractive and visually aggressive presentation of “branded” information. This presentation will also solidify the store’s authority status.
Mark is right — some people do indeed scare easier than others. But, until we understand the continuing source of the problem (and having been born in the Salinas Valley I’d vote for contamination of the irrigation ponds) we’re likely to have more real — an opportunistic — reporting of contamination. And, as long as they continue, sales will be impacted.
I think Mike’s got a point: this will at least reinforce the choices of consumers who shop at stores where the produce manager is on the floor and can tell them exactly where the lettuce comes from. It may not shift a lot of customers but it serves to further separate those stores from the rest.
The public has a short memory when it comes to a lot of things. However, this doesn’t negate the fact that it happened and the industry — retailers and growers — should embark on an ongoing educational, promotional and merchandising program to make consumers understand that it is safe to eat produce.
Frozen may get a temporary boost, but for many consumers there’s nothing like fresh and they will take the chance that what they purchase is safe. Just let’s keep the government out of it.
Some people scare more easily than others. And sometimes fear wears down over time. If the scares continue, more and more long-term damage will occur. Grocery stores are thrilled when comp sales rise 4% or 5% in a mature category like produce. So it only takes 4 out of 100 shoppers to ruin a decent sales trend. Think the lost produce sales will be regained elsewhere? And how many concerned consumers are going to wash their produce with soap?
Produce has major quality issues. Typical is the Consumer Reports article on bagged produce (November 2006, page 8.) “What’s more, the vast majority of bags had “off” odors, smelling like rotten vegetables, sauerkraut, or chlorine.”
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Yes, this will have a temporary impact on fresh food purchases. However, the E. Coli threat has always been here. Consumers in the US demand fresh lettuce and spinach. It is a part of our diet and an American staple (especially in salads). These “scares” only call out for better handling of the food, as well as storage. This makes our system more efficient, safer and successful. Our foods become healthier and everyone benefits. It is all part of the circle of life!
Stores that are able to present themselves as “authorities” have a lot of advantages. In this case, with well presented information about the safety and benefits of frozen produce they may maintain and even gain sales while providing a valuable service to their shoppers. The key is timely and visually attractive and visually aggressive presentation of “branded” information. This presentation will also solidify the store’s authority status.
Mark is right — some people do indeed scare easier than others. But, until we understand the continuing source of the problem (and having been born in the Salinas Valley I’d vote for contamination of the irrigation ponds) we’re likely to have more real — an opportunistic — reporting of contamination. And, as long as they continue, sales will be impacted.
I think Mike’s got a point: this will at least reinforce the choices of consumers who shop at stores where the produce manager is on the floor and can tell them exactly where the lettuce comes from. It may not shift a lot of customers but it serves to further separate those stores from the rest.
The public has a short memory when it comes to a lot of things. However, this doesn’t negate the fact that it happened and the industry — retailers and growers — should embark on an ongoing educational, promotional and merchandising program to make consumers understand that it is safe to eat produce.
Frozen may get a temporary boost, but for many consumers there’s nothing like fresh and they will take the chance that what they purchase is safe. Just let’s keep the government out of it.
Some people scare more easily than others. And sometimes fear wears down over time. If the scares continue, more and more long-term damage will occur. Grocery stores are thrilled when comp sales rise 4% or 5% in a mature category like produce. So it only takes 4 out of 100 shoppers to ruin a decent sales trend. Think the lost produce sales will be regained elsewhere? And how many concerned consumers are going to wash their produce with soap?
Produce has major quality issues. Typical is the Consumer Reports article on bagged produce (November 2006, page 8.) “What’s more, the vast majority of bags had “off” odors, smelling like rotten vegetables, sauerkraut, or chlorine.”