More Consumers Looking at a Product’s Country of Origin: Survey

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Many U.S. consumers appear to be considering country of origin when making purchasing decisions, on at least some occasions, according to a new poll from Harris Interactive here conducted for The Wall Street Journal Online’s Health Industry Edition. A combined six in 10 adults either check to see where a product is produced or manufactured (29%) or do so when making purchases they believe might directly impact their family’s health and safety (32%). Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults lack confidence in the safety of a variety of products produced in developing nations such as China and South Africa. The suspect products include over-the-counter medications, prescription drugs, herbal remedies and nutritional supplements, and packaged or prepared foods. “These findings suggest that if product safety problems continue it is likely that the general public will increasingly consider country of origin when making purchasing decisions,” said Katherine Binns, division president for health care research at Harris Interactive, in a statement.

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