Consumer Food Safety Behavior: A Case Study in Hamburger Cooking andOrdering.
By Katherine Ralston, C. Philip Brent, YoLanda Starke, Toija Riggins,and C.-T. Jordan Lin. Food and Rural Economics Division, Economic ResearchService, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Economic Report No. 804.
Abstract
More Americans are eating hamburgers more well-done than in the past, accordingto national surveys. This change reduced the risk of
E. coli
O157:H7 infection byan estimated 4.6 percent and reduced associated medical costs and productivitylosses by an estimated $7.4 million annually. In a 1996 survey, respondents whowere more concerned about the risk of foodborne illness cooked and ordered ham-burgers more well-done than those who were less concerned. However, respon-dents who strongly preferred hamburgers less well-done cooked and ordered themthat way, even after accounting for their concern about the risk of illness.
Keywords
: hamburger doneness, ground beef, food safety, food safety education,
E. coli
O157:H7, consumer behavior, survey, risk, foodborne illness, risk percep-tions, palatability, information, microbial pathogens.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the following for reviews and very helpful sugges-tions: Carol Levin, Jean Buzby, Jay Variyam, Wen Chern, Helen Jensen, SaraFein, Harry Marks, and Sandy Facinoli, Rosanna Morrison, Tanya Roberts, StevenCrutchfield, Kofi Adu-Nyako, Lou King, and Tom McDonald. We also thank Curtia Taylor for the design and layout. Any remaining errors are ours alone.1800 M Street, NWWashington, DC 20036-5831November 2001
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Contents
Summary
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii
Introduction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Measuring Hamburger Cooking and Ordering Behavior
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3The 1996 Hamburger and Egg Consumption Diary andHamburger Preparation Quiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Measuring Hamburger Doneness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Modeling the Effect of Attitudes on Usual Cooking and Ordering
. . . . . . . . .7Conceptual Framework for the Role of Risk and Taste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Empirical Specification and Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7The Roles of Palatability Motivation and Risk Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11The Role of Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12The Role of Demographic Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Recent Changes in Behavior
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Reasons for Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Food Safety Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Estimating the Reduction in Illness and Medical Costs fromChanges in Behavior
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Conclusions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
References
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Appendix A. An Economic Model of Risk and Palatability inDoneness Choice
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Appendix B. Estimation of the Model of Usual Doneness
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Summary
Promoting the benefits to consumers of following food safety recommendations—through food safety education as well as through media coverage of foodborneillness outbreaks—appears to be influencing cooking and eating behavior.For example, more Americans are eating their hamburgers more thoroughlycooked than before, according to several national surveys. Cooking and orderinghamburgers well-done reduces the risk of infection by
E. coli
O157:H7 and otherpathogens. For example, the change in behavior reported in the 1996 Ham-burger Preparation Quiz (HPQ), a national survey of hamburger cooking andordering preferences,translates to an estimated 4.6-percent lower risk of
E. coli
O157:H7 infection and an estimated $7.4-million annual reduction in medicalcosts and productivity losses as well as reductions in other foodborne illnessesassociated with rare and medium-rare hamburger. Food safety messages aboutcooking and ordering hamburgers may encourage consumers to handle otherfoods more safely as well. While
E. coli
O157:H7 in hamburger is a small partof the burden of foodborne illness—estimated at 5,000 deaths and more than$6.9 billion in medical costs and reduced productivity annually—these findingsillustrate the potential benefits from encouraging consumers to follow foodsafety recommendations as part of an overall strategy to reduce the toll of food-borne illness.Consumers make their decisions on how to cook and order foods based on severalfactors, including taste, palatability, and perceived food safety risk. Consumerbehavior has changed over time, due in part to increased awareness of the risk of foodborne illness and the importance of thorough cooking in reducing that risk.Of respondents to the 1996 HPQ, 70 percent of those who had switched to morewell-done hamburgers in the past 5 years reported they had done so out of fear of foodborne illness. Respondents with higher motivation to avoid foodborne illnesswere significantly less likely to cook or order hamburgers rare or medium-rarethan those with less motivation, holding other factors constant.Taste preferences, however, proved even more important than motivation to avoidfoodborne illness. Thus, food safety education not only must convey the risk of lightly cooked hamburgers, but also should include information on how to retain juiciness and flavor in a thoroughly cooked hamburger.Consumers in the South, Northeast, and in large cities were more likely to orderhamburgers rare, medium-rare, or medium-pink, even after accounting for risk perceptions, tastes, and other factors. However, consumers in different regionsand areas of different sizes reported similar doneness choices when cookinghamburgers for themselves. Only household size was significantly associatedwith how respondents say they cooked their own hamburgers, after accountingfor risk perceptions and tastes. This suggests consumer education to encouragethorough cooking of hamburgers at home should be broadly dispersed ratherthan focused in certain regions.White respondents, those with higher income, those with larger families, andthose who had experienced foodborne illness had higher motivation to avoidfoodborne illness, as did those whose main sources of food safety informationwere magazines, cookbooks, television, and government sources (such as hot-lines). Conveying the consequences of foodborne illness may help motivate con-sumers to follow food safety recommendations.
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