Technological advances stimulate innovations in food product development. Olestra offer consumers an ever-greater variety of products. However, these advances also create questions for the wary consumer. Moreover, these innovations intimidate those who do not have a rudimentary understanding of how they work. For many Americans, even the chemical names for naturally occurring food additives are frightening.
Many consumers turn to media to answer their questions.
However, the media cannot be relied on to remedy the situation. Often, preliminary research is reported as fact, and the hype machine swings into action. In some cases, ajournalist, without experience or background reporting science, is given highly technical or complex information on deadline and expected to assimilate and write a synopsis for the next morning's paper. For their part, consumers don't have the basic knowledge to differentiate a good study from a poor one. Of course, one must also take into account the small percentage of young Americans who read a newspaper on a daily basis.