Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

PCRM, a national health organization dedicated to promoting preventive medicine and higher standards in medical research, education, and practice, on Wednesday filed a petition calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect consumers against feces-contaminated poultry and meat. The petition coincides with PCRM's release of a survey that shows that 84 percent of adults have no idea that the primary source of foodborne pathogens on poultry and meat is animal feces.

A monthly estimate of online spending by U.S.consumers suggests that Internet shoppers forkedout about the same amount in July - nearly $4billion - as they did during the same period a yearago.

Despite recast projections from numerous research organizations, thenew Online Advertising Report forecasts that online advertisingspending is holding its own and will continue to grow steadilyover the next several years.

Kmart has released a statement in response to the Target lawsuit (see "Target to Sue Kmart Over Advertising," Aug. 21). The company remains committed to its 'Dare to Compare' pricing campaign.

ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, and the MediaPlan division of Spectra Inc., each VNU companies, today announced the launch of a jointly developed information service that brings a new level of actionability to the process of marketing mix modeling.

nternet usage in the UK is continuing tosurge, with the vast majority of people happywith the service they get, according totelecoms watchdog Oftel's latest quarterlysurvey.

In an unprecedented cooperative effort in health-care, 10 leading pharmacy provider companies have formed a new venture, named ArcLight Systems, LLC, that collects and reports up-to-the-minute information on pharmaceutical prescription trends in America. ArcLight ( www.arclightsystems.com ) is based in Dublin, Ohio and Paradise Valley, Nev.

A diverse group of antitrust experts, national consumer organizations and major farm groups have joined forces to announce their opposition to Nestle's $10.1 billion merger with Ralston Purina. If regulators approve the deal, Swiss-based Nestle would become the world's biggest pet food company and control roughly 45 percent of the $7 billion U.S. pet food market.