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FooDSFOOD DEMAND SURVEY

Volume 5, Issue 1 : May 15, 2017

Food Demand Survey | Oklahoma State University | [email protected] Lusk | Regents Professor & Willard Sparks Endowed Chair | 405-744-7465

Susan Murray | Research Specialist | 405-744-4857This project is supported by a Willard Sparks Endowment, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, and the

Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

FooDS tracks consumer preferences and sentiments on the safety, quality, and price of food at home and away from home with particular focus on meat demand. FooDS is a monthly on-line survey with a sample size of at least 1,000 individuals, weighted to match the US population in terms of age, gender, education and region of residence. See the online technical document for more details.

About the Survey

Compared to one month ago, willingness-to-pay (WTP) increased for steak, chicken breast, and pork chops. WTP decreased for hamburger, deli ham, and chicken wings. There were large percentage declines in WTP for non-meat items. WTPs for all meat products are lower than one year ago.

MEAT DEMAND

Expenditures on food eaten at home increased 4.05% from April to May and expenditures on food purchased away from home decreased 4.85%. Consumers expect a decrease in beef, chicken, and pork prices compared to one month ago. However, consumers plan to buy less chicken, beef, and pork compared to last month. Plans to eat out decreased compared to last month.

FOOD EXPENDITURES

Willingness-to-Pay

Steak Chicken Breast

Hamburger Pork Chop Deli Ham Chicken Wing

Beans & Rice

Pasta

Last Year:May 2016

$7.12 $5.16 $4.31 $3.79 $2.13 $2.18 $2.00 $2.93

Last Month:April 2017

$6.21 $5.03 $4.26 $3.27 $2.04 $2.04 $2.18 $2.81

May 2017 $6.77 $5.09 $4.16 $3.35 $1.89 $1.77 $1.49 $1.85

% change(April - May)

9.02% 1.19% -2.35% 2.45% -7.35% -13.24% -31.65% -34.16%

Current weekly at home

Current weekly away from home

Anticipated change in at home in next 2 weeks

Anticipated change away from home in next 2 weeks

May 2016 $98.24 $53.74 -0.24% -1.33%

April 2017 $91.93 $52.39 -0.42% -1.12%

May 2017 $95.65 $49.85 -0.33% -1.10%

% change(April - May)

4.05% -4.85% -------- --------

http://agecon.okstate.edu/files/Survey%20Info%20(pdf4556).pdf




Consumer Expectations FooDS

GMOs, Salmonella, and E. coli were the most visible issues in the news over the past two weeks. Awareness decreased for all issues this month compared to last. The largest percent decrease in awareness from April to May was for swine flu followed by mad cow disease. E. coli, Salmonella, and antibiotics were ranked as the top three food safety concerns in May. This is the first time antibiotics has been ranked as one of the top three concerns since May 2016. Concern for all items decreased relative to last month. The largest percent decrease in concern from April to May was for greenhouse gas followed by bird flu.

AWARENESS & CONCERN TRACKING

Awareness of Food Issues




Concern for Food Issues FooDS

Taste, safety, and price remained consumers’ most important values when purchasing food this month. Consumers’ food values remained similar to those in past months. Similar to last month, consumers reported that their main challenge was finding affordable foods that fit within their budget. Avoiding pesticides, added hormones, and antibiotics was the challenge experiencing the largest percentage increase, while finding convenient alternatives experienced the largest percent decrease. In May, 3.6% of participants reported having food poisoning, a 45.3% decrease from last month. About 3.5% of respondents reported being vegetarian or vegan.

GENERAL FOOD VALUES

Consumer Challenges Consumer Values




FooDS

Several new ad hoc questions were added to this month’s survey. Participants were first asked: “Do you eat ground beef patties (i.e. hamburgers)?”About 88% of the participants answered “yes”. Those who answered yes were then asked several questions related to cooking ground beef patties.

The second question asked: “How do you determine the doneness of ground beef patties when cooking hamburger?” Choice options were: A) By using a meat thermometer, B) By visual observation (i.e., looking at the color of meat in the center of the patty), C) By cooking a certain length of time, or D) Other ways.Of the people who said they eat ground beef patties, approximately two-thirds stated they determine doneness by visual observation. Next most common, selected by about 18% of respondents, was determining doneness by length of cooking time. Only about 13.5% said they used a meat thermometer to determine doneness.

AD HOC QUESTIONS

Determining Doneness of Ground Beef Patties




FooDS

The third question asked: “What is your preference for the cooked internal color of ground beef patties?” Response options were: Red, Pink, Brown, or Another color.The majority of participants, about 69%, stated they prefer the internal color of ground beef patties to be brown. About 26% of participants stated pink as their preferred cooked internal color. Only 5% of participants stated they would want a red center in their ground beef patties. Less than 1% stated they would want another color.

Participants were then asked: “To what internal temperature (degrees Fahrenheit) does the USDA recommend cooking ground beef patties?” Respondents answered on a slider scale that ranged from 100 to 200 in one degree increments.The average temperature stated by participants was 162 degrees Fahrenheit (the median was 161). The figure is remarkably close to the actual USDA recommendation of 160F. Nonetheless, a large share of participants were incorrect in their assessment. Thirty one percent stated a temperature less than 160 and 54.5% stated a temperature higher than 160. Even providing a five-degree margin of error, 28% stated a temperature less than 155 and 37% stated a temperature greater than 165.

AD HOC QUESTIONS

Preferences for Internal Color of Cooked Ground Beef Patties




FooDS

Next, participants were asked: “How is the ground beef you normally buy packaged?” Response categories included text and photos of six different packaging options including: vacuum sealed, in a box as frozen patties, in butcher wrapped paper, as a chub, film wrapped, and in a tray.Of those who eat ground beef, one third stated that they buy packaged ground beef in a tray. Ground beef in a film wrapped packaged was selected by about 28% of participants. About 18.7% of respondents stated they buy ground beef packaged as a chub. Only 5.6% of participants purchase ground beef in a vacuum sealed package.

AD HOC QUESTIONS

How Consumers Buy Ground Beef by Packaging Type




FooDS

Lastly, all participants were asked: Which of the following meat sources do you think uses the most and least amount of animal feed to produce a pound of meat? Please drag one option into the top box and drag one option into the bottom box.” Then six animals/production systems were listed: grass fed cattle, feedlot cattle, free range pigs, grain fed pigs in a hog barn, free range chickens, and grain fed chickens in broiler houses. Individuals had to click on one item and drag it into a box that read “Eats the MOST amount of feed (or pounds of animal food) to produce a pound of meat.” In addition, they had to click on one item and drag it into a box that read “Eats the LEAST amount of feed (or pounds of animal food) to produce a pound of meat” Participants stated that free range chickens were the most efficient (i.e., used the least amount of feed to produce a pound of meat) followed by grass fed cattle and grain fed chickens. However, response patterns were not necessarily symmetric. Thirty percent of participants believed feedlot cattle were least efficient (i.e., ate used the most feed to produce a pound of meat) followed by 25% who indicated grass fed cattle as most inefficient. About an equal number of respondents thought free range pigs were both most and least efficient.

AD HOC QUESTIONS

Perceptions of Amount of Feed Needed to Produce One Pound of Meat




FooDS AD HOC QUESTIONS

food demand surveyagecon.okstate.edu/faculty/publications/5529.pdfagricultural and food research...

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