Report: The USDA Food Safety Mobile
Traveling the Nation with Food Safety Education

“In addition, this is a program that  is innovative and collaborative, Murano said. "With our grassroots partners, we are able to take our education programs to a whole new level," she said.

This program and the Agency's public health commitment are important, Murano said. "We need to take every action we can. We need to address each step along the food safety chain: farms, slaughter plants, processing plants, transport, retail establishments—and consumers’ homes. The cumulative effect of these initiatives is safer food and a healthier Nation. We have an historic opportunity to not only do what is right, but what is needed," she said.

USDA Takes its Message to America

Launched in March 2003 by Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman and Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Elsa A. Murano, the USDA Food Safety Mobile is demonstrating the Department's commitment to food safety and public health. “The tour and the Mobile will help educate millions of people,” said Agriculture Secretary Veneman.

With this mobile marketing initiative, USDA is reaching out to various publics across the country— making contact with people who may not seek out safe food handling information.

Since its launch, the USDA Food Safety Mobile has taken its message about safe food handling to consumers in their neighborhoods and communities. From the Indianapolis 500 to the Navajo Nation Fair, the USDA Food Safety Mobile is directly reaching audiences across America.

What is Mobile Marketing?

Commercial companies from Hershey’s Chocolate to C–SPAN are fielding fleets of mobile units, taking their messages and their products to America's doorstep. This type of non-traditional marketing is capturing more commercial marketing dollars than ever before.

Why? Commercial companies are beginning to question the long-range viability of traditional advertising, such as the return on high-dollar television advertising. The chief marketing executive for General Motors acknowledges that they are "moving hundreds of millions of dollars to non-traditional programs."

One non-traditional program corporate America is turning to is “experiential marketing.” This marketing concept focuses on reaching out to new publics, interacting with them, and providing consumers an “experience” with their corporation or product. One key delivery tool for experiential marketing is mobile marketing. It provides two major benefits:

• By taking messages TO consumers, marketers succeed in capturing consumer attention.
• By INTERACTING with consumers and creating an “experience,” lasting impressions are formed that influence behavior.

Utilizing these innovative non-traditional marketing approaches, USDA is in a unique position: using marketing innovations to reach audiences never before reached and “selling” public health behaviors.

From Washington, DC, to California

The Food Safety Mobile and various representatives from the Department have visited communities across the Nation. Dr. Elsa A. Murano, Under Secretary for Food Safety, visited the Greater Philadelphia Area Food Bank with Eric M. Bost, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, and a Philadelphia celebrity chef. Dr. Garry L. McKee, Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service, visited Frontier Days in Cheyenne, WY.

In Large Cities and Small Towns

USDA is taking safe food handling messages to America’s neighborhoods.

Destined to turn heads as it treks down the highways, the USDA Food Mobile is covered with colorful graphics and features the notorious BAC!—the foodborne bacteria that can make people sick. Also depicted are the safe food handling practices that beat BAC! back: clean, separate, cook, and chill.

At every stop—fairs, schools, senior demonstrations, centers, grocery stores, parades—the Mobile s a traveling educational tool.

Accompanied by food safety experts from the Food Safety and Inspection Service—frequently in partnership with local food safety educators— the USDA Food Safety Mobile offers:

As commercial marketers recognize, interacting with consumers is the key to establishing a lasting impression—and affecting consumer behavior.

 The USDA Food Safety Mobile is the perfect platform for interacting with consumers.

One of the primary goals of the USDA Food Safety Mobile is to establish and develop partnerships at the local level. USDA and FSIS have a long history with many organizations interested in food safety. The value added by these new and growing partnerships is enormous. The Mobile would not be successful without them.

Together, we form a team. For the communities the Mobile visits, FSIS provides the total package—representatives from the national level teamed with their community leaders. Working side by side, they have answers for consumers—whether it’s a national issue or a local issue.

Partners with the USDA Food Safety Mobile come from all over the community:

The full impact of mobile marketing cannot be captured with numbers. Mobile marketing focuses on quality interaction and the long-term benefit of building trust.

But the numbers also tell a story that is significant. From March 2003 through November 2003:

• Number of States/DC: 28
• Number of cities: 64
• Number of events: 87
• Days with events: 121
• Miles Traveled: 24,267
• Estimated face-to-face contacts: 179,000
• Estimated publications and materials distributed: 225,000
• Estimated media impressions (no Internet): 64.4 million
• Calls to 1-888-MPHotline (Mar.-Oct.): 3,188