PMA: Safety, shelf life among key topics for shoppers

The Produce Marketing Association found in a recent consumer survey that shelf life and food safety are the top consumer concerns with fresh produce.

While about 80% of respondents said they are buying the same amount or more fresh fruits and vegetables, among those people buying less, 51% said they are shopping less frequently and are concerned about how long produce will last, and 41% said they are concerned with the safety or cleanliness of fresh produce, according to PMA’s research report.

As part of its Joy of Fresh campaign, PMA has developed a toolkit to help grower-shippers, retailers and others in the industry to communicate with shoppers.

To determine what the key topics around produce are, PMA does research through consumer surveys and also speak with its members and with consumer-facing publications and websites.

“We have support to actually talk to the writers of the media to get a sense of what are they interested in hearing about, what are they writing about, because that’s how you can get a preview of what things are going to come,” PMA chief marketing officer Lauren Scott said.

For example, the public discussion around produce started with safety, then moved to what foods should people be eating to stay healthy, and then turned back to safety again.

“That’s why the toolkit has many lanes so that you can react to what is the narrative that’s happening and be timely and try to get ahead of the curve,” Scott said.