Homemakers' Use of and Opinions About Selected Fruits and Fruit Products

Excerpts from the report: Per capita consumption of fresh noncitrus fruits has declined in the past 20 years, but consumption of processed noncitrus fruit during this same period increased considerably. To understand the noncitrus market better, the industry needs up-to-date information on how each product appeals to the consumer and what aspects the consumer reacts to negatively. To provide these data, the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted a nationwide survey of consumers' attitudes. Such information is an important aid in maintaining or increasing markets for, and consumers' satisfaction with, agricultural products. Data were obtained in personal interviews with a national probability sample of homemakers, chosen as representative of households throughout the Nation. The homemaker is defined as the person with primary responsibility for purchasing and preparing food for the household. In most households this person is a woman, but men qualified as respondents in about 5 percent of the 2,454 sample households