Public Perceptions of Food Contamination Risks: A Simulation Experiment on the Psychological Impact of Incident Severity and Intentionality.

How do consumers perceive risks associated with food contamination? How do they respond to foodborne illness outbreaks and food recalls resulting from food contamination? We report findings from an experiment ( = 1,010) in which participants were exposed to a simulated news report on a food contamination incident that had led to a foodborne illness outbreak and voluntary food recalls. Two characteristics of the food contamination incident were experimentally manipulated - severity (i.e.

Health Disparities in Calorie Knowledge and Confidence Among the U.S. Adult Population.

Purpose: Obesity prevalence has reached an all-time high in the US, affecting >40% of the population. This study's objective was to evaluate associations between demographics and self-reported calorie knowledge and self-perceived confidence in calorie knowledge ("calorie confidence"). The relationships between body mass index (BMI) and calorie knowledge and confidence were also explored.

Influence of Risk Severity and Intentionality on Perceptions of Food Contamination Risks among Pregnant Women: An Experimental Investigation.

Given the potential for severe health consequences of consuming contaminated foods during pregnancy, effective communication of food contamination risks to pregnant women is especially important. This study examines pregnant women's risk perceptions and intentions to adopt risk-reduction behaviors following exposure to a simulated news story about a food contamination incident. The news story was experimentally manipulated to depict the severity of the incident as high or low and the cause of the incident as accidental or intentional.

Pet Ownership and Pet Type Influence Food Safety in the Home: Evidence from a National Survey.

Abstract: Physical contact between humans and their pets increases the potential for zoonotic disease transmission. This study used the 2016 U.S.

Soda or VitaSoda: How Product Name Influences Perceptions of Snack Food Healthfulness and the Moderating Role of Nutrition Facts Labels.

Many parts of a food package label can influence consumers' product judgments. In this study we investigate how strategic product naming influences consumers' perceptions of snack food products' healthfulness and nutritional content by focusing on snack food names that include (versus do not include) the noun "vita." We also analyze how the effects of product naming are moderated by viewing the Nutrition Facts labels (NFLs).

Nutrient Content Claims: How They Impact Perceived Healthfulness of Fortified Snack Foods and the Moderating Effects of Nutrition Facts Labels.

Nutrient content claims (NCCs) may inflate perceived healthfulness of nutritionally poor foods. The aim of this study is to experimentally test the effects of NCCs on consumers' perceptions of fortified snack foods in terms of the presence of both healthful and less healthful nutrients, as well as their intentions to consume such products. It also explores the potential moderating effects of reading Nutrition Facts Labels (NFL) on the influence of NCCs.

Vitamin-Fortified Snack Food May Lead Consumers to Make Poor Dietary Decisions.

Background: The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) fortification policy discourages the fortification of certain foods, including sugars and snack foods such as cookies, candies, cakes, chips, and carbonated beverages, yet manufacturers sometimes add vitamins and minerals to snack foods.

Objective: To assess whether vitamin-fortified snack foods affect consumers' information-seeking, purchase decisions, and product-related health perceptions.

Design: For this experimental study, participants were randomly assigned to study conditions to compare products that varied in product type, nutrition profile, and fortification and nutrient claim status.

Mapping Sources of Food Safety Information for U.S. Consumers: Findings From a National Survey.

This research examines the sources from which U.S. consumers obtain their food safety information.

Prevalence of self-reported food allergy in U.S. adults: 2001, 2006, and 2010.

Background: Epidemiologic evidence indicates that food allergies are increasing in the population. Information on a change in self-reported food allergy (srFA) in adults over time is lacking.

Objective: To report the prevalence of srFA and compare differences at three time points over a decade.

Infant feeding practices and reported food allergies at 6 years of age.

Objective: The goal of this study was to identify the frequency of physician-diagnosed food allergies among 6-year-old US children and study the impact of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary food introduction on this frequency.

Methods: Data were analyzed from children who participated in the Infant Feeding Practices Study II Year 6 Follow-Up Study (Y6FU). Children with probable food allergy (pFA) were defined as children with report of physician-diagnosed food allergy at age 6 years.

Self-reported hand washing behaviors and foodborne illness: a propensity score matching approach.

Hand washing is a simple and effective but easily overlooked way to reduce cross-contamination and the transmission of foodborne pathogens. In this study, we used the propensity score matching methodology to account for potential selection bias to explore our hypothesis that always washing hands before food preparation tasks is associated with a reduction in the probability of reported foodborne illness. Propensity score matching can simulate random assignment to a condition so that pretreatment observable differences between a treatment group and a control group are homogenous on all the covariates except the treatment variable.

Sex-based differences in food consumption: Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) Population Survey, 2006-2007.

Background: This analysis used data from the most recent Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) Population Survey (May 2006 through April 2007) to examine differences in the consumption of various types of foods between men and women.

Methods: Participants were surveyed by telephone and asked whether or not they had consumed certain foods in the past 7 days, including the following "high-risk" foods commonly associated with foodborne illness: pink hamburger, raw oysters, unpasteurized milk, cheese made from unpasteurized milk, runny eggs, and alfalfa sprouts. Data were weighted to adjust for survey design and to reflect the age and sex distribution of the population under FoodNet surveillance.

Food safety perceptions and practices of older adults.

Objectives: Older adults are considered more vulnerable to foodborne illness due to lowered immune function. We compared the food safety perceptions and practices of older and younger adults and determined associations with demographic characteristics.

Methods: We focused on 1,317 participants > or = 60 years of age from the U.

Effect of low-carbohydrate claims on consumer perceptions about food products' healthfulness and helpfulness for weight management.

Objective: Evaluate effect of low-carbohydrate claims on consumer perceptions about food products' healthfulness and helpfulness for weight management.

Design: Experiment in which participants were randomly assigned 1 of 12 front-of-package claim conditions on bread or a frozen dinner. Seven of the 12 conditions also included Nutrition Facts (NF) information.