Dealing with Consumer Uncertainty: Public Relations in the Food Sector (2002)

My studies on the "uncertain consumer" began with a research project c- ducted by the Dr. Rainer Wild-Stiftung - Foundation for healthy nutrition - on the negative image of processed food. Ever since then I have been asked whether or not growing consumer uncertainty is linked to information po- cies of the food sector and if so, how. Intensive three-year research showed that industrial methods of food production are predestined to result in wayward fears and worry over its healthiness. This is due to the fact that during the process of industrialisation, we gradually passed responsibility for the quality of food into the producers' hands. This, in turn, has resulted in information gaps that we, as the addressees of diverse, often overwhelming and contrad- tory information supplied by varying sources, feel today. We exchanged the daily search for food for the daily search for information long ago. Con- quently, a practical concept for public relations stands at the end of my - search into the uncertain consumer. It accounts for uncertainty regarding processed food as a point of reference for public relations targeted towards various groups. Public relations oriented towards the future calls for the sharing of expert information with all interested consumers. It is the goal of businesses to actively build up trust among the consumers in order to be prepared for new causes for uncertainty appearing periodically. To this day the issue of consumer uncertainty has not lost its topicality.