Results for Tamper Evidence

Collaboration with Dr. Neal Hooker of AED Economics will advance a consumer survey to provide industry with acceptance factors that affect marketing. The recent 2nd year ABIG funding in that same department maps nicely on top of this project. Collaboration with Dr. Angela M. Frazier at North Carolina State University was initiated and focus groups are planned in both the NCSU and OSU locations. This will help focus consumer acceptance issues and set the stage for next year developments.

Linna Halim was funded during the spring term to do a literature search on current events related to tamper evident packaging. She has collected several papers on the subject and has summarized her findings. The subtopics she has compiled data on are:
1. Evidence of tampering within the last five to six years.
2. Recently introduced temper evident devices, including:
    a. The use of RFID
    b. Color changing temper evident devices
    c. Laser marking devices
    d. resealable tamper evident caps
    e. Tamper evident shrink bands
3. Survey on customers willingness to pay more for a better assurance of food safety
4. The use of focus groups to collect data on consumer preferences relating to food safety
5. Survey on consumer perceptions on food related risks.

The next step is obtaining reliable consumer acceptance data.  We plan a consumer focus group and a consumer survey in collaboration with North Carolina State University and with the Department of AED Economics, Ohio State.

The second round of ABIG Centers (July 2006) include an Ag Economics Center in AED Economics led by Dr. Marv Batte.  Dr. Neal Hooker is a co-investigator in both centers so there is additional support for Neal's activities here and in several other aspects of food safety economics.

Here are prototype questions for the focus groups scheduled this Fall:

QUESTIONS

1. Raise your hand if you have ever noticed a tamper evident device on a package of food that you have bought.

2. Why do you think these are on these packages?

3. Do you believe that it is important to have this on a food package?

4. Have you ever read the description about the tamper evident device on a package that you purchased?

5. Raise your hand if you could tell if the tamper evident device had been triggered.

6. Do you usually check to see if the tamper evident device is intact?

7. Is it easy to tell if a package has been opened by simply looking at the tamper evident device?

8. If one food has a tamper evident device and a similar product does not, which one would you buy?

9. If two foods have tamper evident devices and one costs more, which one would you buy?

10. Do you believe a tamper evident device that changes color when the package is opened would be useful?

11. Do you believe a color changing tamper evident device would catch your attention?

12. Would you be willing to pay more for a product with this feature?

13. Do you have any other thoughts, comments or questions that you would like to share?
Thank you.