A report that many apples contain a cancer-causing preservative called Alar apparently had little effect on consumers.

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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?


(A) In March, many grocers removed apples from their shelves in order to demonstrate concern about their customers' health.

(B) Because of a growing number of food-safety warnings, consumers in March were indifferent to such warnings.

(C) The report was delivered on television and also appeared in newspapers.

(D) The report did not mention that any other fruit contains Alar, although the preservative is used on other fruit.

(E) Public health officials did not believe that apples posed a health threat because only minute traces of Alar were present in affected apples.



OA A

Source: Official Guide

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Premise: A report that many apples contain a cancer-causing preservative called 'Alar' apparently had little effect on consumers.

Conclusion: The sales of apples in grocery stores fell sharply in March, a month after the report was issued.

Option A - Correct:
From the passage's conclusion, "the sales of apples in grocery stores fell sharply in March, a month after the report was issued"; this implies that many grocery stores removed apples from their shelves which would prevent consumers from buying it and as such, a further demonstration from the grocery stores regarding their customers' health/

Option B - Incorrect:
This claim holds no valid point with respect to the passage.

Option C - Incorrect:
This claim is completely off point. We are not concerned about the medium to which the message was delivered as it has no relevance to the passage's conclusion

Option D - Incorrect:
In as much as the report did not mention that any other fruit contains Alar, it also didn't mention that the preservative is used on other fruits. So, this claim is wrong.

Option E - Incorrect:
While this seems to be true in accordance with the passage premise, it doesn't hold any basis to validate the conclusion of the passage which is our major focal point. So, therefore, this claim is not true