Grantee Research Project Results

1998 Progress Report: Communicating Strategies to Grocery Consumers to Reduce their Dietary Exposure to Chemical Pesticide Residues While Maintaining a Healthy Diet

EPA Grant Number: R825819
Title: Communicating Strategies to Grocery Consumers to Reduce their Dietary Exposure to Chemical Pesticide Residues While Maintaining a Healthy Diet
Investigators: Zimmerman, Donald E. , Slater, Michael , Kendall, Pat
Institution: Colorado State University
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2000
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 1998 through December 31, 1999
Project Amount: $839,624
RFA: Issues in Human Health Risk Assessment (1997) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Human Health

Objective:

Specifically, we have designed our risk communication research to identify optimal communication strategies and tools for disseminating and educating consumers. We seek to answer the following questions:

1. What communication strategies help consumers increase their understanding of information about the risks and benefits of pesticides in foods?

2. What kinds of information do consumers find most useful and what motivates them to implement behaviors to reduce their exposure to pesticide residues on and in foods?

3. What key factors ensure the cultural acceptability of the communications to minorities and to potentially susceptible populations?

4. Does an in-store public information campaign help provide customers with (1) accurate, pertinent, and useful information about pesticide residues in or on foods; (2) sound nutrition information; and (3) strategies designed to reduce exposures to chemical pesticide residues?

Progress Summary:

Phase I, Task # 1 Audience Analysis. We conducted eight focus groups (two with each group: African Americans, Anglos, Hispanics/Latinos, and parents) and analyzed the results. The Anglo and parent focus groups were conducted in an urban/suburban community of 100,000 residents; the African American focus groups were conducted in a major metropolitan community of more than 1 million residents; and the Latino/Hispanic focus groups were conducted in a predominately agricultural community of 72,000 residents.

The results suggest differences among the four groups in their perceptions and understanding of food quality, pesticide residues, and government roles. Further, differences emerged in their food preparation practices and their perceptions of needed information, desired channels for delivering pesticide information, and strategies for reducing pesticides and maintaining a healthy diet.

Phase I, Tasks # 2. We have begun our iterative design of the posters, leaflets, brochures, and kiosks. We are being guided by (1) our focus group results; (2) research literature on risk communication, message design, food pesticide residues, and reducing pesticide residues; and (3) consultations with EPA staff members and our advisory panel.

Phase I, Tasks # 3. We have purchased the kiosk equipment and software, and began developing prototype kiosk modules. We interviewed managers of supermarkets that have kiosks near their respective produce sections, made observations of kiosks use, and interviewed a University Extension specialist who is developing kiosks using multimedia software. Our interviews and observations suggest that kiosks designs must attract shoppers to them and provide easy access.

Future Activities:

Because of the low response rate to the Hispanic/Latino focus groups, we have scheduled an additional focus group by working with a local social service agency.

We are developing journal articles based on the analysis of the focus groups and plan to submit them by mid March 1998.

We will continue the iterative strategy of developing and testing the posters, leaflets, and brochures, and usability testing of kiosk messages. We plan to complete both tasks by early November 1999.

We plan to conduct Phase II, a Field Test of an In-store Public Information Campaign in late spring of 2000.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 15 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

Pesticide risk, Food Quality Protection Act of 1996, risk communication, pesticides, foods, fruits, vegetables, meats, message design, kiosk design, grocery shoppers, grocery consumers, leaflet design, brochure design, focus groups, usability testing, communication science, formative evaluation, evaluation., Health, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Toxics, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, pesticides, Risk Assessments, Chemistry, Ecology, genetic susceptability, Environmental Chemistry, Children's Health, Social Science, dietary exposure, epidemeology, environmental hazard exposures, health risks, sensitive populations, public information campaign, pesticide residue, cultural acceptibility, lower income consumers, pesticide exposure, human exposure, nutritional information, grocery consumers, pesticide residues, developmental effects, outreach material, surveys, minorities, exposure, consumer behavior, toxicology, web development, environmentally caused disease, environmental toxicant, ethnicity, developmental disorders, exposure pathways, outreach and education, ethnic

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

1999 Progress Report

Final Report