Community Food Store Types Availability is Associated with Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in North Carolina

Despite the nutritional guidelines promoting consumption of fruits and vegetables, the level of fruits and vegetable consumption is drastically below the recommended levels nationally, as well as at the state levels. Among factors that may influence consumption of fruits and vegetables, it is held that factors within the food environment such as the availability of retail types that are conducive for easy access to fruits and vegetables within communities may be presenting barriers to purchase. We employ multilevel modeling approaches to investigate the determinants of fruit and vegetable intake in North Carolina, accounting for food environment factors. Results of the study indicate that availability of supermarkets and full service restaurants is associated positively with fruits and vegetable consumption while fast food outlets are associated negatively. Other smaller store types were not statistically significant. Individual factors including age, being female, employed, income and education all were positively associated with fruits and vegetable consumption. The significant positive association of area level food environmental factors with the consumption of fruits and vegetables indicates a complementary role for intervention directed at improving the availability of supermarket type stores so as to impact healthy food purchases and consumption.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The “Made in USA poultry label” and consumer choice in Ghana

Market survey data from Ghana was used to gain understanding of consumers’ attitudes, preferences for foreign food products, and the role product country of origin plays in the demand for poultry. Intention to purchase poultry from the US was anchored on product packaging, quality, expiry date and country of origin.Country of origin, consumer preference, poultry demand, Ghana, US exports., Agribusiness, Industrial Organization, Marketing, Q13, Q17,

EVALUATION OF EXPORT PROMOTION PROGRAMS ON TRADE OF HIGH-VALUED AND PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR NORTH CAROLINA AGRIBUSINESS

International Relations/Trade,

DETERMINANTS OF UNSAFE HAMBURGER COOKING BEHAVIOR

We used a national hamburger preparation survey to estimate a simultaneous equation model of food safety knowledge, attitudes, and hamburger cooking behavior. The results suggest that food safety risk perceptions, palatability attributes, and food safety knowledge play important roles in determining food preparation behavior.Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Food retail provisioning, dietary behavior and weight outcomes in North Carolina

Aspects of the built environment may be contributing to the upward trend in obesity through constrained availability and affordability of healthful foods. The neighborhood food environment factors such as the availability of food retail stores is increasingly being recognized as playing an important role in health behaviors and health outcomes. We examine the local availability of retail food stores and their influence on the risk of obesity in North Carolina. Data on food stores were linked through county codes to individual data from the BRFSS data and multilevel modeling was employed to assess their associations with BMI. In regressions that included fruit and vegetable servings, and food store types as explanatory variables, our result show that BMI decreased with availability of supermarkets, and consumption of more servings of fruits and vegetables. In contrast increased availability of gas and convenience type food store outlets was associated with increased BMI

Community Food Store Types Availability is Associated with Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in North Carolina

Despite the nutritional guidelines promoting consumption of fruits and vegetables, the level of fruits and vegetable consumption is drastically below the recommended levels nationally, as well as at the state levels. Among factors that may influence consumption of fruits and vegetables, it is held that factors within the food environment such as the availability of retail types that are conducive for easy access to fruits and vegetables within communities may be presenting barriers to purchase. We employ multilevel modeling approaches to investigate the determinants of fruit and vegetable intake in North Carolina, accounting for food environment factors. Results of the study indicate that availability of supermarkets and full service restaurants is associated positively with fruits and vegetable consumption while fast food outlets are associated negatively. Other smaller store types were not statistically significant. Individual factors including age, being female, employed, income and education all were positively associated with fruits and vegetable consumption. The significant positive association of area level food environmental factors with the consumption of fruits and vegetables indicates a complementary role for intervention directed at improving the availability of supermarket type stores so as to impact healthy food purchases and consumption

FOOD SAFETY PERCEPTIONS AND BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS IN THE SOUTHERN BLACK BELT OF THE U.S.

A new data set is used to study differences in the food safety perceptions and behavior of black and white consumers in the Southern Black Belt of the US. Analysis of general food safety risk perceptions and ethnic origin indicate no significant differences in the perceptions of blacks and whites. Further, the issue of 'misperception' by consumers of the origin of most foodborne illness is not explained by sociodemograhic factors but rather consumers information sources and awareness of foodborne pathogens

FOOD SAFETY PERCEPTIONS AND BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS IN THE SOUTHERN BLACK BELT OF THE U.S.

A new data set is used to study differences in the food safety perceptions and behavior of black and white consumers in the Southern Black Belt of the US. Analysis of general food safety risk perceptions and ethnic origin indicate no significant differences in the perceptions of blacks and whites. Further, the issue of 'misperception' by consumers of the origin of most foodborne illness is not explained by sociodemograhic factors but rather consumers information sources and awareness of foodborne pathogens.food safety, risk perception, ethnic, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,