I found similar results in several kinds of tests with irradiated meats. If they got little to no information, more than 40 percent still would pick the irradiated product. In fact, almost a third of those tested were willing to pay a 10 percent price premium for irradiated meat. In another test, however, I compared the reactions of consumers who got good information with those who received untrue or mixed information. Common misinformation, for example, is that irradiated foods may become radioactive or they're somehow linked to cancer.
People scare easily, so the bad information completely dominates the good.
In that case, I suppose consumers think it's better to go with the devil they know than with the devil they don't. After all, for years they've been eating meat that wasn't irradiated. I plan to follow up with testing soon after. Only a handful of upscale grocers are selling irradiated pork and poultry, which received government approval in the early 1990s. A number of stores sell irradiated vegetables and fruits, such as strawberries.