August 29, 2002

New figures from the research firm NPD Group show that consumer confidence in beef safety remains strong despite a flurry of publicity this summer about E. coli. According to information collected from 600 members of NPD's online panel between July 24 and July 29 - a period when news coverage of E. coli was very high following a large recall initiated in mid-July -- two-thirds of consumers said they intended to eat the same number of burgers during August 2002 as they ate a year earlier.

Only 19% percent said they intended to eat fewer burgers. One year ago, 20% of consumers said they intended to eat fewer burgers. Consumers' intentions to eat steak, hot dogs and fast food burgers also remained at normal summer-time levels, according to NPD.

NPD also found that 52% of consumers surveyed had a greater awareness of E. coli than they did two weeks earlier, up from 47%. Consumers who said they were extremely or very concerned about E. coli rose just 1% over a two-week period that included a large beef recall and major national publicity.

To visit NPD's web site and view the survey results, go to http://www.npd.com.