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Sales Loss Determination in Food Contamination Incidents: An Application to Milk Bans in Hawaii
Author(s) -
Smith Mark E.,
Ravenswaay Eileen O.,
Thompson Stanley R.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1241489
Subject(s) - heptachlor , business , contamination , media coverage , food safety , government (linguistics) , consumer confidence index , food contaminant , marketing , food science , pesticide , ecology , chemistry , biology , linguistics , philosophy , organochlorine pesticide , sociology , agronomy , media studies
Abstract This article presents a procedure for estimating sales loss following a food contamination incident with application to the case of heptachlor contamination of fresh fluid milk in Oahu, Hawaii, in 1982. A major finding is that media coverage following the incident had a significant impact on milk purchases and that negative coverage had a larger effect than positive coverage. This conclusion implies that public statements by producers or government to assure the public of safe food supplies may be ineffective in restoring consumer confidence following the discovery of a food safety problem.