Consumers: safe meat worth the cost.

A majority of consumers would be willing to pay a higher price for meat that has been treated against pathogenic bacteria, either by irradiation or steam pasteurization. These results of a mail survey by Food Safety Consortium researchers at Kansas State University might surprise anyone who thought the public was leery of irradiation.

"In this survey, we did not provide any information about irradiation," explains Sean Fox, the KSU agricultural economics associate professor who conducted the survey. "In this survey, there was no information other than a statement that irradiation is used to kill bacteria."

Fox's survey was mailed to households in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Wyoming. It asked consumers which they would choose if they could buy a standard meat product at $1.69 per pound or a treated product at the same price or at prices 10 to 40 cents per pound higher. Fox received 715 usable surveys, with 79% of respondents indicating that at equal prices, they would choose the treated product. Fifty-five percent would choose the treated product if it cost more.

Some consumers were more concerned about irradiation than steam pasteurization. The probability of choosing to buy an untreated product was greater if irradiation, rather than steam pasteurization, was the treatment. Although steam pasteurization had a lower rejection rate, respondents who chose to buy a treated product tended to place a higher value on irradiation than on steam pasteurization. They displayed a higher willingness to pay for it, Fox says. Households with children were more likely to choose the safer products. Those who were willing to pay more were on average willing to pay a premium of 22 cents to 26 cents per pound. People who consume more ground beef away from home were more likely to buy the treated product.

Consumers who were aware of the possibility of reducing risk through careful cooking and handling were willing to pay for treated products at a lower rate than those who weren't aware. Does that suggest that people who consider themselves to be careful cooks don't place as much importance on a product's treatment before they buy it? "That's one way of putting it," Fox says. Further information. Sean Fox, Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, 331 J Waters Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail].