# 3013
The Food Policy Institute (FPI) is an academic research unit of Rutgers University in New Jersey. Their mission is to address the pressing issues and challenges facing our food production and distribution system.
Yesterday they released the results of a telephone poll that indicates that 40% of respondents basically ignore food recall notices – seemingly believing `that food recalls simply don't apply to them.’
Recent CDC/FDA Web Badge
The FDA and the CDC are continually looking for ways to not only get the message out about food recalls, but also to inspire people to actually check their pantries and remove suspect items.
It’s that last part they are having trouble with.
People apparently are aware of food recalls, but many simply don’t do anything about them.
We see this same lack of inertia in everyday preparedness for emergencies. A poll conducted in 2007 showed that only 7% of respondents were even reasonably prepared to deal with a disaster.
New Poll Reveals Only Seven Percent of Americans Are 'Red Cross Ready' for a Disaster or Emergency
Jun 12, 2007, News Report
According to an April 2007 poll conducted by the American Red Cross and Harris Interactive, only seven percent of the population has taken what the Red Cross considers the three steps necessary to prepare for a disaster or emergency: get a kit,make a plan, and be informed.
Although this poll is two years old, it is unlikely that even with the push for public preparedness by agencies like the HHS, Ready.gov, FEMA, and the Red Cross that these numbers are appreciably higher.
`Magical thinking’, believing that the truly bad things in life will only happen to `someone else’, is rampant in our society.
For many, preparing for emergencies would be an admission that something `bad’ might happen – and for them it is preferable to believe otherwise.
Like putting off making a will, or refusing to wear seatbelts, this sort of denial has a bad way of eventually catching up with people.
The Red Cross has an online tutorial available to help people become `Red Cross Prepared’. You can find similar sage advice from FEMA and Ready.gov.
(Click Image to run tutorial)
But back to this latest poll on food recalls.
The press release is available as a .pdf download, as is the complete report, from the FPI website.
Here are some excerpts (reformatted for readability) from the press release.
RUTGERS STUDY FINDS MANY CONSUMERS IGNORE FOOD PRODUCT RECALLS
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Rutgers‟ Food Policy Institute (FPI) released a study today showing that many Americans fail to check their homes for recalled food products.
Only about 60 percent of the studied sample reported ever having looked for recalled food in their homes, and only 10 percent said they had ever found a recalled food product.
The study was based on a survey of 1,101 Americans interviewed by telephone from Aug. 4 to Sept. 24, 2008. The study can be downloaded at www.foodpolicy.rutgers.edu.
Most respondents also said they pay a great deal of attention to food recalls and, when they learn about them, they tell many other people. But 40 percent of these consumers think the foods they purchase are less likely to be recalled than those purchased by others, appearing to believe that food recalls just don‟t apply to them.
“Despite widespread awareness of recent foodborne illness outbreaks, and a sense that the number of food recalls is increasing, about half of Americans say that food recalls have had no impact on their lives,” said psychologist William K. Hallman, a professor of human ecology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.
“Getting consumers to pay attention to news about recalls isn‟t the hard part but getting them to take the step of actually looking for recalled food products in their homes is a real challenge.” Hallman is also the director of FPI and lead author of the study report. The Rutgers researchers also shared some suggestions to improve communications about food recalls.
Nearly 75 percent of those surveyed said they would like to receive personalized information about recalls on their receipt at the grocery store, and more than 60 percent said they also would also like to receive such information through a letter or an e-mail.
