A report that many apples contain a cancer-causing preservative called Alar apparently had little effect on consumers. Few consumers planned to change their apple-buying habits as a result of the report. Nonetheless, sales of apples in grocery stores fell sharply in March, a month after the report was issued. Which of the following, if true, best explains the reason for the apparent discrepancy described above? ['Because of a growing number of food-safety warnings, consumers in March were indifferent to such warnings.', "In March, many grocers removed apples from their shelves in order to demonstrate concern about their customers' health.", 'Public health officials did not believe that apples posed a health threat because only minute traces of Alar were present in affected apples.', 'The report was delivered on television and also appeared in newspapers.']