Recall overload

TK: The irony of product recalls is that the more recalls that are issued, the less effective they may become. So as the FDA becomes more proactive about food recalls, is the public beginning to tune them out? From Doug Powell at K-State, here is a link from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:
From the story:

In the midst of the scare over E. coli-contaminated spinach last fall, 87 percent of Americans said they were aware of the resulting recall. But 13 percent of the people who ate fresh spinach before the recall kept eating it afterward, even though most knew they shouldn't, according to research from Rutgers University's Food Policy Institute.Food recalls often create excitement, for obvious reasons. But they have other problems that can curtail their effectiveness. By the time government officials figure out exactly what is making people sick, much of it has already been eaten.

Later....

"Most Americans don't know the symptoms of food-borne illness," said William K. Hallman, director of Rutgers' Food Policy Institute, which researched the response to last year's spinach recall. (The research was aimed in part at understanding issues that might occur if terrorists intentionally tampered with food.)
Sophisticated computer systems have made it simpler to pull items out of supermarket chains. O'Hara grocer Giant Eagle is even exploring using contact information gathered from its Advantage card users to alert them to recalls on items they've purchased.

TK: Using the Rewards or Advantage card for recalls is a good idea, though retailers are probably worried about the carryover effect on consumer confidence in their store.

Yet smaller stores buying products from third parties might not get the word or have quick ways to identify tainted product. Castleberry's tried to address that issue by sending out audit teams to inspect retail outlets. They had checked more than 17,500 stores as of the end of July.
The FDA was also sending out people to try to make sure items were pulled. "We really put out a blitz on that one," said agency spokeswoman Cathy McDermott.
No matter how big, fast and loud the warning, there's no guarantee consumers will hear and understand the message. When the Rutgers researchers studied the results of 1,200 phone interviews with Americans in 50 states after last year's spinach recall, they found, for example, 44 percent of those surveyed thought washing fresh spinach would make it safe to eat, which wasn't true, and 18 percent stopped buying other bagged produce because of the recall, which was unnecessary.
Sending the all-clear signal is also an inexact process. Although the FDA issued a statement in late September that consumers could be confident about bagged spinach grown outside of three counties in California, two months later, more than 30 percent of those surveyed either thought the recall was still in effect or weren't sure.
As for those consumers who ate spinach during the recall despite being aware of the issue, the researchers are still interested in finding out why, said Dr. Hallman. Maybe they figured they'd take their chances -- or maybe they just knew the farmer who grew their spinach and were confident it was safe.

TK: I doubt that even one tenth of one percent of consumers "knew the farmer" who grew their spinach, so chalk it up to those who would "take their chances."