March 01, 2004

By: Martin Collins
Website: http://www.1st-in-steaks.com

NPD finds most Americans trust U.S. food supply

Americans still have a healthy appetite for beef and trust the U.S. food supply, despite the recent case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad-cow disease in Canada. Leading market information company The NPD Group, Inc. reports Americans' concerns about mad-cow disease jumped 14 percentage points (from 47 percent to 61 percent) the week Canada announced its findings, but their intentions to eat steak and hamburgers did not change.

Fifty-six percent told NPD they intended to eat the same amount of burgers, 16 percent said they would eat more and 17 percent said they would eat less (11 percent report not eating burgers at all). For steak, 57 percent said they intended to eat the same amount, 18 percent said they would eat more and 15 percent said they would eat less (10 percent report not eating steak at all). In both cases, the numbers are on par with consumers' intentions a year ago.

Most Americans, 69 percent, told NPD they feel confident that food in the nation is safe. "Consumers are telling NPD that Canada is about as far away in their minds as Germany, meaning that even though we're neighbors, mad-cow disease in Canada has not affected Americans' intentions to eat beef in the U.S.," said Harry Balzer, vice president, The NPD Group. "And while the situation brought mad-cow disease to the forefront of consumers' concerns, it did not shake their trust in the safety of the food supply here," said Balzer.

NPD tracked people's restaurant eating habits in Germany throughout the country's mad-cow outbreak there. We found that beef-oriented restaurants were hit hard for six to nine months. The outlets serving fish, chicken and pizza profited from the crisis with increased sales. However, once the mad-cow crisis subsided, consumers went back to their old eating patterns.

Twice a month NPD's Food Safety Monitor tracks people's concerns about the safety of food at restaurants and in supermarkets. Even though 90 percent of consumers tell us they eat steak, mad-cow disease has never been the number one food safety issue. E. coli and salmonella have consistently remained the top two concerns for consumers in the U.S.

NPD also tracks consumers' concerns about bio-terrorism, listeria, genetically modified foods trans-fatty acids, mercury in fish, foot and mouth disease and acrylamide.

Also see: Steak and Lobster

About The Author:

Martin Collins is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-steaks.com.  Great tips on buying top quality meats, steaks and seafood from the finest ranchers and butchers.