Abstract
In the summer and fall of 2011, cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes caused the most deadly foodborne illness outbreak in the U.S. since 1925. The CDC confirmed that 146 people from 28 states were infected and 30 people died as a result of eating the affected melons. To understand public reaction to the outbreak and subsequent recall of cantaloupe, a national Internet survey was conducted with 1,924 adults in December 2011 (65.3 % completion rate). The results indicate that only 65% of Americans had heard about the recall. Those who reported having eaten cantaloupe prior to the outbreak were significantly more likely to have heard about the recall. A Logistic regression indicated that older Americans (p<.000), those with higher education levels (p<.000), those with no children living in the home (p<.001), those who are not Hispanic or African American (p<.05), and those with household Internet before joining the survey panel (p<.05) were significantly more likely to have been aware of the recall. Only 27% of those aware of the outbreak believed that anyone had died as a result of it. Reported behavior may reflect this lack of perceived severity; of those aware of the recall and who ate cantaloupe prior to the outbreak (n = 742) only 44% stopped eating cantaloupe during the recall, and 81% of those who did stop eating it said they definitely or likely will eat cantaloupe again in the future. Over half of Americans (56%) believe that nothing can be done to render a contaminated cantaloupe safe to eat. Finally, the survey permits comparisons between awareness of and reactions to the cantaloupe outbreak and other recent, large-scale outbreaks that have occurred in the US, including E. coli in spinach in 2006, Salmonella Saintpaul in peppers in 2009, and eggs contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis in 2010. The analysis provides evidence that increasingly fewer Americans are avoiding the potentially contaminated foods involved in large scale recalls.