Does Food Safety Information Affect Consumers' Decision to Purchase Mean and Poultry? Evidence from U.S. Household Level Data

Many factors influence consumer purchasing habits, including food safety information. Concerns about food safety can be influenced by both idiosyncratic experiences and general media information. This study focuses on the reaction of consumers to changes in the amount of beef, pork, and poultry food safety information available in the media. A multinomial logit model is estimated to assess the probability that heterogeneous households avoid making purchases in response to changes in food safety information. Results of the model suggest that certain households respond to changes in the level of information available by choosing to avoid purchasing meat or poultry.