Rutgers Spinach report: Part V

More from the Rutgers Food Policy Institute:

Most Americans say they have or will eat fresh spinach again More than four-in-ten respondents (44%) who had heard about the recall and ate spinach say they have eaten spinach since the recall ended (see Table 5). These respondents reported that it took approximately two weeks after the recall ended for them to resume eating (M= 14.50 days, SD= 12.01; Mdn= 14.00). Those who had had not yet eaten spinach since the recall said it will take an average of about two months for them to start eating fresh spinach again (M= 56.98 days, SD= 74.81; Mdn= 30.00) and their estimates ranged from one day to one year. Only 5% of those who ate spinach and heard about the recall say they will never eat fresh spinach again.

Demographics related to who is eating spinach after the recall There are important demographic differences among those people who had already begun eating spinach again as of November and those who had not. As shown in Table 6, among those who were aware of the recall and ate spinach prior to the recall, older people (χ2 (4, 502)=14.99; p<.005)and those with lower incomes (χ2 (3, 430)=20.53; p<.001) were less likely to have eaten spinach since the recall ended. Conversely, whites were more likely to have eaten spinach since the end of the recall (χ2 (2, 487)=8.65; p<.05). Education and sex were not related to eating spinach after the recall.