New Orleans - Young Parents

Section Links: Group Description | Food Safety Perceptions | Food Safety Knowledge | Thermometer Use | Concept Testing for Character | Concept Testing for Slogans | Fight BAC! Awareness

I.  Group Description

Seven persons, aged 21 to 35, participated in the young parents focus group.  Six participants were parents of children aged six or younger.  One participant was pregnant and did not have other children at home.  Five participants were high school graduates, one had some college education, and one was a college graduate.  All were primary food preparers in their home or shared responsibility for preparing meals.  Two participants were of Hispanic origin, two were African American, and the remaining three were Caucasian.  Specific demographic information is shown below.

II.  Food Safety Perceptions

When asked what comes to mind when they think of food safety, several participants mentioned chicken, and some cited recent salmonella scares.  One man who worked in a hotel was concerned about E. coli in hamburgers.  Others mentioned washing counters and cooking foods for long periods of time.

Participants said they get food safety information from a variety of places, including television and the news. Two persons mentioned the Home Network and 20/20.  Others got information from their mother, work experience, and a home mailing.  Participants thought temperature and shipping and handling played a role in causing foodborne illness.  Some participants thought hot dogs were a food more likely to cause foodborne illness.  Other foods mentioned were packaged meats and seafood.

The group was asked if they were more cautious about food preparation since having children.  Some agreed they were, but a few stated they had always been cautious.  The expecting mother was more cautious now that she is pregnant because she did not want to get sick.

III.  Food Safety Knowledge

The majority of participants were familiar with the safe food handling label on raw meat and poultry products.  When asked what information they recall from the label, participants mentioned only expiration dates.  One person said she did not look at the label because she already knew what to do with the meat.

Participants said they look at expiration dates on meat and poultry products.  A few participants said they consider the words “sell-by” to be the last date a store could sell a product.  One person said “use-by” meant the last day one should use a product if it had been kept unfrozen.

When asked what they thought “cook thoroughly” means, one participant suggested meat, especially red meat, being cooked well done.  When asked about “cook to proper temperatures” meant, the group talked about the temperature called for in the recipe for cooking that kind of meat or poultry.  They agreed that different meats should be cooked to different temperatures.

All participants said they use paper towels for clean up.  Most use soap or cleaner with the paper towel.  No one said they reuse paper towels.

IV.  Thermometer Use

Participants were asked how they protect their families from foodborne illness.  Participants mentioned the following:  not letting their children touch raw meat, washing hands, keeping all surfaces clean, and using different utensils.  Participants said they know food is done by slicing it to look at the inside, knowing from experience how long to cook something, and ensuring that the meat is not pink and juices run clear.  One person said they might use a thermometer if they are microwaving a turkey.

Although two people own food thermometers, they only use one when cooking large cuts of meat (i.e., roasts and turkeys).  One person said she does not trust thermometers and mentioned a time a chef cooked a chicken to what he said was the proper temperature but the meat was still pink.  No one used a thermometer for cooking small pieces of meat such as hamburgers.

V.  Concept Testing For Character

The character exhibits and rating forms used by participants are included in the Focus Group Materials section of this notebook.

EXHIBIT 1:  Plain Thermometers

The group preferred the round thermometer (the thermometer on the left) to the bell-shaped thermometer.  Two participants thought the graphics only looked like thermometers because of the numbers on the face.  Another participant thought the round thermometer looked like it would give more and better information.  Participants agreed that the numbers on the round thermometer were easier to read.  Several participants commented that the decimal point was not necessary as there was no number following the decimal. 

EXHIBIT 2:  Dressed Thermometers

The group again preferred the round thermometer character (shown on the right) to the bell-shaped thermometer.  Participants thought the character’s hand pointing to the temperature was in the right position.  They thought it looked friendly and happy, and they liked the sweat beads and Fahrenheit symbol.  Suggested improvements include straightening the 160° in the mouth and making the dots on the handkerchief yellow. 

When asked if the thermometer should hold something in its hand instead of the handkerchief, one person suggested a spatula or other utensil.  Some thought that might be better than the handkerchief because it is more cooking related.  They also liked the idea that it give a thumbs-up sign indicating the food is ready.  They did not like the idea of it holding or being inserted in a piece of meat as that would suggest it was only for use with that particular kind of meat.  Some thought the red button that was on the plain round thermometer should also be included on the dressed thermometer.  They thought it was a good indication that the thermometer was working properly.

Participants did not find the bell-shaped character appealing.  Some participants thought it looked like a mailbox or a piece of candy.  Some said the scarf on the bell-shaped character looked like a beard.

When asked what type of cooking came to mind upon seeing the characters, a few participants said grilling and barbecue, and one said cooking turkey.  Most group members viewed the character as male, but the women did not find that offensive.

Participants offered the names Tempy, Theo, Thermo, and Thermo Stan.  One did not like Therman saying it sounded too masculine, but they seemed to like the name Thermie. 

Some participants said this character would be effective in promoting a food thermometer campaign.  One woman thought her children would remember it and would remind her to use a thermometer.

Participant Rating Of Characters

Participants preferred Characters C and E, the round thermometer characters.  There were several third place votes for Character A.  The results of the rating are shown below.

Participants said they liked C because the numbers were easier to read.  Some said they would prefer E if the numbers were straightened to make them more legible because they like the smile on E.

EXHIBIT 3:  Thermometers in Hamburgers

Some participants did not like seeing the thermometer in meat because they felt that meant the thermometer was only to be used when cooking hamburgers.  They did understand that the 160°F was showing to what temperature to cook the hamburger.  Some did not like the rosy cheeks of the character saying it looked too hot.

EXHIBIT 4:  Thermometers in Roast/Chicken

One woman thought the turkey looked raw because of the pinkish color.  She preferred the thermometer be shown with several meats pictured around it.  Another participant thought it would be effective to show the thermometer in a turkey above the turkey counter at the grocery store but not to show it in a turkey on an advertisement.  Another suggestion was to show the character next to a plate of a fully prepared meal and have it give the thumbs-up sign.

EXHIBIT 5:  Thermometer in Leftover Stew

Participants did not identify the food shown in this exhibit as leftovers.  Some participants said they did not think the temperature of leftovers needed to be measured because they have already been cooked.  One participant mentioned that leftovers are generally warmed in a microwave.

VI.  Concept Testing For Slogans

Before completing the slogan rating form, the group brainstormed for possible slogans to go with the thermometer character.  Suggested slogans were written on a flipchart for better viewing:

·         Use the Therm to Kill the Germ

·         If Tommy doesn’t check your food, the doctor may check your tummy

·         Use Tempy, Don’t be Wimpy

·         Tempy says, “Cook to Your Health”

·         Tempy says, “Be Healthy and Safe”

·         Tempy Teaches You to Cook Right

A few of these slogans were mentioned after the rating took place and therefore were not included in the slogans to be rated.

Participant Rating Of Slogans

The rating form used by participants is included in the Focus Group Materials section of this notebook.  Participants were encouraged to “write in” slogans suggested by the group.  Although there was no group consensus about which slogan was preferred, a few slogans received multiple votes.  The results of the ratings are shown below. 

Participants favorite solgan was “When the Temperature is Right, It’s Safe to Bite” (H).  Some suggested using “Tempy says…” before the slogan.  Another person liked H because it emphasized watching the temperature, which is what one needs a thermometer for.  Others liked it because it rhymes, it’s catchy, and it has the right message ¾ safety.  Several participants liked “Thermie says, COOKITSAFE!” (G) because it uses the character’s name, and one person liked the connected word.  Some participants liked “Use a Thermometer…it’s a Safe Measure” (D) and “Safety to the Max…Know Your Temperature Facts” (I) because they stress the safety message.  One participant strongly felt that the words “safety” and “temperature” should be mentioned in the slogan.  Another thought that people would really pay attention if the message presents facts because people want to know the truth.

Participants liked using the character’s name with the slogan.  One participants thought using a name with a slogan would work with her children because they would remember the name and remind her what the character says.  She referred to children as “walking commercials” because they remember and repeat everything they hear.

When asked what kind of message would be most effective in a campaign, participants suggested safety, taste, other people’s experiences, and something catchy.  One participant thought it would be effective to have cooking demonstrations in supermarkets and use thermometers to teach by example.  Another person suggested teaching it in school in physical education and health classes.  She thought that would be effective in teaching parents as well because children would pass the information on to their parents.

VII.  Fight BAC!  Awareness

None of the participants were familiar with the Fight BAC! character.  They thought it would be effective to show BAC and the thermometer character fighting.  They discussed serial commercials and thought the two characters could go through a series of events in different commercials so people would look forward to seeing the next one.