Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Results
To more effectively communicate the fi ndings of the survey, the results are described
in three sections, corresponding to what Americans said they knew and did before,
during, and after the recall. However, it should be noted that the order in which the
results are described does not necessarily refl ect the order in which specifi c questions
were asked.
Before the Recall
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that before the recall,
consumption of fresh spinach had been increasing dramatically, due largely to sales
of packages of “triple-washed” spinach, one of the fastest growing segments of the
packaged salad industry. Although consumption of frozen spinach had been relatively
stable from 1980-2005 and consumption of canned spinach had been declining,
consumption of fresh spinach increased from less than 0.5 lb/yr per person in 1980 to
2.5 lb/yr in 2005 (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service 2007a).
Consistent with this, the survey found that nearly half of Americans (48%) said
they ate fresh spinach before the recall. Most also reported that they ate it relatively
frequently. More than one - in - fi ve (22%) of those who said they ate fresh spinach
reported that they had done so “a few times a week,” 18% “once a week,” 29% “a
few times a month,” and 14% reported eating spinach “once a month.” The remainder
said they ate fresh spinach “a few times a year” (14%), “less than a few times a year”
(2%), or “only a few times in their life” (1%). Thus, most (83%) of those who ate
spinach before the recall did so at least once a month, and 40% did so at least once a
week. A logistic regression analysis indicates that Americans with more education
(odds ratio
OR
= 1.49; 95% confi dence interval
CI
= [1.33, 1.67]) or higher incomes
(
OR
= 1.11;
CI
= [1.05, 1.19]) were more likely to report having eaten fresh spinach
before the recall than those with less education or lower incomes. However, there
were no signifi cant differences in age, race, or gender between those who reported
that they ate spinach before the recall and those who did not.
During the Recall
Awareness and Interest
At the time of their interviews, the majority of Americans (87%) reported they had
been aware of the spinach recall. More than half (56%) knew that there had been a
recent food recall and were able to volunteer that it had been a recall involving spinach.
An additional one-third (31%) reported being aware of the spinach recall when asked
specifi cally if they had heard about it. Only 13% of American consumers said they
had been unaware of the recall, 19% of those who did
not
eat spinach before the recall
and 9% of prerecall spinach consumers. As shown in Figure 19.1, more than half
(52%) reported having heard “a lot” or “a great deal” about the spinach recall and
86% report having heard at least “a little” about it.
Those who had been aware of the recall were asked what questions (if any) had
come to mind when they had fi rst heard about it. The responses to this open-ended
question were then categorized based on content (see Table 19.1). The results show
that the majority of the questions raised by the 446 participants who responded focused
