Project Number: 1935-41000-092-05
Project Type: General Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Oct 01, 2011
End Date: Jun 30, 2013

Objective:
Evaluate consumer acceptance of UV technology.

Approach:
Focus groups (30-50 consumers) will be conducted in at least three locations representing urban and rural communities in Washington. A focus group discussion guide will be developed to encourage consumers to discuss their thoughts on food safety interventions in the fresh produce industry and the acceptance of new intervention technologies, including UV-C. Factors that motivate consumers to accept food safety technologies and UV-C as well as barriers to acceptance will be explored. Focus group transcripts will be analyzed for response themes to identify positive marketing approaches to promote consumer acceptance of UV-C technology for application onto fresh fruits.