Does consumer willingness to pay change over time in response to food scares?

Abstract

Using poultry as a case study, this research uses experimental auctions to examine the short and longer term impacts of media information on consumer behavior. Adult subjects were presented with negative food safety information from a leading consumer magazine, and their WTP was elicited for two types of chicken. The first chicken was from a leading brand, which the article stated has a high incidence of campylobacter and salmonella bacteria. The second was from a relatively unknown brand of chicken, which the article reported was relatively free of harmful bacteria. Results from two limit tobit regressions indicate that food safety information significantly impacts consumer WTP for safe chicken in the short run, but its effect disappears over time while the negative information persists throughout the study period.