Consumers still avoid eating fresh greens

Rutgers Food Policy Institute in New Brunswick, N.J., released the results of a nationwide survey it conducted in November to determine the effectiveness of the FDA advisory in September to E. coli-contaminated spinach.

Nearly 90 percent of Americans heard about the advisory to avoid consuming bagged fresh spinach. Of these, 84 percent who heard about the spinach recall discussed it with other people.

Most Americans did stop eating spinach because of the recall, but 13 percent of those who ate spinach before the recall continued to eat it during the recall. Some Americans were confused over the products affected, with 18 percent saying they stopped buying other bagged produce because of the recall.

At the time of the FPI survey people were still confused over the status of the recall. Thirteen percent believed it was still in effect and 18 percent didn’t know if it was still ongoing.

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For more: Food Policy Institute, Rutgers University, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, ASB III, 3 Rutgers Plaza, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; (732) 932-1966; fax (732) 932-9544; www.foodpolicyinstitute.org.