Overcoming Consumer Barriers to Healthy Food Safety Behaviors:
"Selling" Food Thermometer Use

Susan Conley
Director, Food Safety Education
Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA

Mission:

Phases in Campaign Development

• Phase 1: Campaign for the General Public

• Phase 2: Targeted Audience Segmentation

• Phase 3: Planning and Implementation of Targeted Campaign

Phase 1: General Public Awareness

• Long history of encouraging food thermometer use

• Outbreaks changed the awareness -- 1993 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak

• Science changed the message

Past Messages

(picture of safe handling label; campaign materials featuring message that a safe hamburger is cooked brown in the middle)

Cooking Studies Show Color Not a Reliable Indicator of Safety

• Cooking by color is misleading

• 1 out of 4 hamburgers turns brown before it reaches safe temperature

Using a food thermometer is the only reliable way to determine if food is safety cooked.

But, it is a "Tough Sell"

• In 1994 Hotline survey, less than 50% owned a food thermometer

• Most used it only for the Thanksgiving turkey, if at all

• Very few used it for all meats

1998 National Survey

• Less than 50% of American cooks owned a food thermometer

• Only 3% use it to check small items like hamburgers

Listening to the Customer: Focus Groups Conducted

• Consumer’s food safety knowledge quite good

• Used color of meat and "intuition" to test doneness

• Knowledge and use of thermometers limited

• Less than enthusiastic about using a thermometer

Some Barriers Existed...

(cartoon. Woman says, "No woman in my family has ever used a meat thermometer. I'd as soon stuff the bird with twinkies as use a meat thermometer." Unseen character replies, "Calm down, sweetheart, let me make you some stovetop stuffing.")

Consumer Attitudes about Food Thermometer Use

• Inconvenience -- "It’s a hassle"

• Added expense to purchase a thermometer

• Experience -- feel not necessary -- they know when food is done

• Cooking for years without ill effects

They didn’t think they were guessing... (Cover of old brochure, "Use a Meat Thermometer and Take the Guesswork Out of Cooking")

Key Findings…Behavior Change is Possible

• Parents of young children are most likely to change behavior -but for their children only

• Upscale cooks interested in quality foods might consider use to avoid overcooking

Data Used to Develop a National Campaign

• 1998 Data told us:

  • Target parents of young children

  • Emphasize taste

  • Easy to use everyday

• Campaign focus groups told us:

  • Stress safety

  • Created "Thermy ™" character

National Campaign Launched

(graphic - Thermy™)

Campaign Successes

2001 National Survey Shows:

• 60% own a food thermometer
  • Up from 46% in ‘98
• 6% use a thermometer when cooking hamburgers
  • Up from 3% in ‘98

Thermometer sales

• Industry sales data show an increase in sales of thermometers

2001 Focus Groups

• Conducted groups with parents of children under 10
• Divided groups based on education level
• Utilized New Methods
  • Provided all of the participants with materials and half with food thermometers prior to the group

Focus Group Results

• Parents confident in ability to safely handle food at home
• Most not aware of importance of using a food thermometer
• Participants who received a food thermometer with educational materials more likely to use one

Phase 2: Audience Segmentation

• Began work in 2001 to further segment audience -- parents of young children
  • Parents are potential early adopters of this behavior
  • Children are at increased risk of foodborne illness

Goals Based on Stages of Behavior Change:

• Among parents of children under 10:
  • increase awareness of the need to use a food thermometer
  • increase intention to use food thermometers
  • increase sales of food thermometers
  • Increase trial usage of food thermometers
  • increase continued regular usage of food thermometers
  • Decrease the incidence of foodborne illness among young children

Immediate Focus on First Goal

• Increase awareness of the need for using food thermometers among parents of children under 10:
  • by 15% by 2004
  • by 60% by 2010 (Objective coincides with Federal Healthy People 2010 Campaign)

Forms of Segmentation

• Demographic*
• Geographic*
• Psychographic*
• Behavioral*
• Geodemographic
• Household

*Focus Groups -- Phase 1

Segment the Market

• Demographics
• Stages of behavior change
• Perceptions & attitudes
• WHY?
• Improves efficiency
• Improves effectiveness

Using Commercial Models

• Incorporate the power of advanced modeling
  • technology tested and enhanced for nearly 30 years
  • use of "birds of a feather" to find patterns
  • use of a household-by-household insight

Narrowing the Focus

from all people all the time……to 62 distinct neighborhood types……to 28 neighborhood types
with concentrations of children under age 10

Defining Sub-segments

• 28 neighborhood types into 4 distinct groups: Boomburbs, Heartlands, Single Moms, Rural Towns
• demographics (educational attainment)
• lifestyles (purchase behaviors, leisure activities)
• psychographics (willingness to change)

(graphic showing characteristics of Boomburbs, Heartlands, Single Moms, Rural Towns)

Prioritizing Sub-Segments

• Number of children under age ten
• Exposure to undercooked meat products
• The quickness of new information motivating behavior changes

Primary Target Selection

• Implications of focusing on this target explored with the I-Wheel^TM planning tool

Implications Wheel: Barriers and Bridges Identified

Barriers & Bridges

• Barriers:
  • May reach a "safety overload"
  • Some who are at risk are not informed
  • Message may get lost in information overload
• Bridges:
  • Share ideas with friends and family
  • Tend to seek more information about new things

Target Exploration: Become Relevant to their World

• Media preferences (print, radio, TV)
• Shopping habits (groceries, home products)
• Financial behaviors (credit and debt tools)
• Attitudes and beliefs (personal ideals)
• Lifestyles (recreation, travel)
• Automobiles

Boomburbs: Trendsetter Population

• News and information hungry
• Technology-savvy gadget lovers
• Demand high achievement for their children
• Gourmet-conscious "foodies"
• Safety conscious
• Seeks luxury
• Above average consumers of scientific and technological entertainment
• Influencers in society -- doctors, educators, communicators, political leaders

Boomburbs Preferences

• Magazines -- PC Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Money, Bon Appetit
• Radio -- Soft Contemporary, Classic rock, News/Talk, Drive-time, NPR
• TV -- Comedy Central, E!, Headline News, The Disney Channel
• Stores -- Target, Pier 1 Imports, Gap for Kids, Toys R Us, Macy’s, Disney
• Household Products -- Burglar alarm, bread machine, electric coffee grinder, Camcorder,
• Food and Drink -- Brie cheese, Godiva, lunch kits, toaster pastries

Wide Variety of Information Available...

• Financial Behaviors
• Attitudes and Beliefs
• Lifestyles
• Automobiles

Where They Live

• Phoenix
• Sacramento
• Orlando
• Atlanta
• Albuquerque
• Greensboro
• Annapolis
• Tampa

Desired Behaviors - What We Want Them To Do:

• Become willing to collect information
• Accept that it might apply to them
• Experiment with methods and tools
• Acquire food thermometers, learn to use
• Repeat the behavior every time
• Teach their children and others

Possible Benefits to Emphasize

• Better tasting meat
• Insuring a perfect quality result every time
• Satisfaction from predictability
• Increased confidence in the cooking process
• Enjoyment of using a new technology
• Satisfaction from pursuing healthier cooking that is safer for their children

Strategies for Education

• News media stories
• Internet
• Cooking-related TV programs
• Television/film references
• Upscale grocers
• Upscale gadget retailers/catalogs
• Adult education, eg, cooking classes
• Parent-Teacher Organizations

Phase 3: Plans for Reaching Boomburbs

• Conduct Boomburbs observational research focus groups

Focus Groups Held in August

• Little knowledge of thermometer use
• Viewed them as inconvenient to use
• Used visual cues to decide if food is done

Focus Groups Barriers

• Family tradition -- thermometers not used by role models
• Don’t know how to use food thermometers
• Don’t think it necessary to use them on small cuts of meat

Bridges to Use

• Parents concern for children’s safety
• Boomburbs interest in food quality and using technology

Other Findings

• Don’t know visual signs are not reliable
• Web use high -- as predicted
• Get information from the media

The 4 "P"s for Boomburbs

• Product: Use a food thermometer for everyday meals
• Price: Hassle factor and actual cost to purchase a thermometer
  • Exchange hassle for safety of children
• Place: Parents of children under 10
• Promotion: Messages and mechanisms we will use to reach them

Phase 3: Plans for Targeted Campaign

• Explore Web site changes specific to Boomburbs
• Work with applicable media to inform Boomburbs about safety issues
• Develop PR plans and educational plans for Boomburbs
• Develop revised support materials for Boomburbs

Plans for Targeted Campaign

• Possibly redesign the Thermy™ character to be more technical or eliminate
• Conduct pilot campaign in a specific city to test materials
• Continue collaboration with thermometer manufacturers to design appealing products
• Collaborate with industry to produce learning environments at grocers, colleges, etc.
• Design a plan to reach the Boomburbs children in their school environments
• Develop and install a formal tracking & evaluation process; revise objectives

Evaluation Techniques

• Federal Government FoodNet Foodborne Illness Data
• Federal Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
• Federal Consumer Food Safety Survey
• Industry data on Thermometer sales
• Targeted Market Surveys

Stay tuned...thank you.