New Survey Shows North Americans Still Don't Understand Bird Flu

18/05/06 A recent survey by global market research firm Synovate shows that even though nearly all North American residents (90% in the US and 95% in Canada) are aware of Avian, or Bird, Flu, their understanding of how the virus is contracted and safety measures taken by the food service and restaurant industries to protect them is still very limited.

The online survey, which reached more than 1,600 U.S. and Canadian households, all of whom had visited Quick Serve Restaurants (QSRs) in the past four weeks, indicates that there is concern among both Americans and Canadians about bird flu reaching North America, and that dining out behavior may change if it reaches this part of the world.

"In the U.S., over 20 billion pounds of chicken are sold to consumers -- 40% to 50% of that is being sold in restaurants. While Bird Flu has not yet been found in North America, restaurants and QSRs may suffer decreases in visitation if it appears," said Edward Murphy, Senior Vice President at Synovate. "Our research shows that if Bird Flu appears in North America, more than one in three patrons in the U.S. and Canada claim they would reduce their out of home dining or in fact, completely stop it. Additionally, an equal proportion claims that they are unsure about how the
news would sway their intentions to dine out."

Twenty five percent of American and 22% of Canadian respondents indicated that they would eat less poultry or completely cease their poultry consumption if Bird Flu appeared in North America. Of those respondents, a majority indicated that they would replace poultry with either beef or fish.

Meat proteins that would be consumed in place of poultry (among those who indicated they'd eat less poultry) 

Americans tend to be slightly more concerned about Bird Flu reaching the U.S. with just under three in 10 feeling extremely/very concerned, while a quarter of Canadians are concerned. However, 82% of Americans and 79% of Canadians said that they've done "nothing at all" to prepare for the possible pandemic. In fact, only 10% of Americans and 13% of Canadians have even sought out information on Bird Flu.

Twenty-five percent of Canadians think that their country is well prepared to handle a Bird Flu pandemic while only 15% of the Americans believe that the U.S. is well prepared. Both groups surveyed were equal in their belief that a pandemic will occur in their countries in 2006 -- 19% of Americans and 18% of Canadians.

A relatively large percentage of respondents -- 24% in the U.S. and 19% in Canada -- stated that they do not know which form of poultry contact (whether cooked, raw or live birds) poses more of a threat but the majority believe that handling raw poultry likely represents the greatest risk for illness contraction.

The most important fact about bird flu is that the virus cannot be spread to people through consumption if the poultry is cooked properly. Thirty percent of Americans and 38% of Canadians surveyed said they would be more likely to continue eating chicken and poultry if they knew this. One-third of Canadians said that they would be more likely to continue eating poultry if the government acted to prevent infected poultry from entering the food chain in the first place, while only 24% of Americans indicated that government intervention would make them more confident to continue eating poultry.

"It is clear that the restaurant industry needs to be prepared to address consumers' fears and develop action plans to retain their customer base. In addition, consumers should be made aware of the steps poultry suppliers, the food service industry and restaurant chains are taking to ensure their safety, along with educating them on how bird flu is spread," says Murphy.

The online survey was conducted in April 2006 using Synovate's ePanel, which consists of over one million U.S. and 120,000 Canadian households. Sample size between the two countries is comparable with 821 U.S. respondents in the U.S. and 826 in Canada.