Retail Panel Discussion: Consumers and Antibiotics - Kathleen O'Donnell, Chief Food Scientist, Wegmans Food Markets, from the 2013 NIAA Symposium Bridging the Gap Between Animal Health and Human Health, November 12-14, 2013, Kansas City, MO, USA. More presentations at http://www.trufflemedia.com/agmedia/conference/2013-niaa-antibiotics-bridging-the-gap-animal-health-human-health

1. Consumers and Antibiotics
National Institute for Animal Agriculture
November 14, 2013

4. 12/12/13

5. The Issue
Consumers are hearing about
overuse of antibiotics and they are
concerned.
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6. Medical Community
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7. Media and Reports
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8. Social Media
• Meatwithoutdrugs.org has collected over 500,000
signatures.
• Citizens Against Superbugs has 60,000
Facebook likes
• Supermoms Against Superbugs group visited
Washington D.C.
• Save Antibiotics has 20,000 Twitter followers

9. Legislation and Regulation
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10. CDC
Antibiotic Resistance
Threats in the United
States, 2013 is a snapshot
of the complex problem of
antibiotic resistance today
and the potentially
catastrophic consequences
of inaction.
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11. Wegmans’ Customers
95,000+ communications in 2013, up 4%
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12. What is Wegmans Doing?
• Emerging Issues Work Group
• Antibiotics, a focus topic
• Understand:
– Treatment
– Control
– Prevention
– Growth Promotion
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13. What is Wegmans Doing?
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•
•
•
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Transparency
Anticipate Questions
Prepare Answers
Educate Employees
Offer Customers Choice
– Food You Feel Good About/Organic
Wegmans Brand
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14. Wegmans Food You Feel Good About
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•
•
•
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Cleaner label
Minimally processed
No antibiotics used (meat/poultry)
No added hormones (meat)
No animal by-products (meat/poultry)
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15. Summary &
Recommendations
•
In the past three months, 99% of all respondents (n=2,352) purchased a Wegmans brand
product, and 77% (knowingly) purchased a FYFGA product.
•
93% of all respondents are familiar with the “Food You Feel Good About” label.
•
68% of respondents stated that a Wegmans branded product (organic, meat, produce, or
FYFGA) were their favorite “natural” labels. (unaided).
•
The top 3 reasons for purchasing “Food You Feel Good About” products are that they are
healthier, people trust Wegmans to put out a safe, quality product, and because of the
absence of negative additives.
•
Respondents trust that Wegmans products are held to the highest standards.
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16. What “Food You Feel Good
About” Means to Customers
(in their own words)
n=2,169
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17. Most Important Food
Attributes
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*
*
*
*
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18. Customers Say:
“I hope your chickens don't have hormones
or antibiotics.... this is very important to
me and, with Danny Wegman's focus on
healthy eating/living, I would hope he'd
want the same for his customers...
thanks!!”

19. Customers Say:
“I am curious as to whether your chicken
supplier gives their chickens antibiotics
after reading about the issues with Foster
Farms. I just read Mark Bittman's op ed
piece in today's New York Times.”

20. Customers Say:
“Does Wegmans sell farm-raised fish that has
been treated with antibiotics? There was a
program on TV that basically said that farm
raised fish is treated with antibiotics to prevent
diseases.”
“Recently I read an article comparing farm
raised salmon with wild caught. It stated that
farm raised were often overcrowded and fed
large doses of antibiotics to prevent the spread
of disease.”

21. Customers Say:
“I just learned that antibiotics are sprayed on
ORGANIC apples and that its allowed, I find
that to be extremely deceptive! I have been
buying more organic apples lately and now I'm
very upset about this news, can it be verified or
not if the apples you sell are sprayed?? I'm so
disgusted with this news I would hate to throw
out all my apples because I refuse to consume
ANY amount of an antibiotic. At the very least
they should not be called organic.”

22. Thank you
Questions?
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