Organic Food Consumption and Perception among Polish Mothers of Children under 6 Years Old

Abstract

Pro-environmental attitudes, including organic food consumption, can reduce negative impact on the environment. The consumption of organic food in Poland is rather low, but the ecological awareness of Poles is steadily increasing. The aim of the study was to assess the frequency and factors influencing the consumption of organic products and to analyze the perception of such food by mothers of children under 6 years of age (n = 667). The survey was conducted between March 2020 and May 2021 in three voivodships in Eastern Poland. The results of the survey indicate that the majority of respondents are occasional consumers of organic food (51%). The most commonly consumed organic products are eggs, vegetables and fruits, whereas the least consumed are alcoholic beverages, coffees and ready-to-eat meals. The responders’ main characteristics of organic food are as follows: no genetic modification/GMO-free, no synthetic additives and having organic certification. Statistically significant correlations were found between the frequency of organic food consumption and education, financial situation as well as familiarity with the logo of the organic certificate and verifying that it is present on the packaging. The most common reasons for consuming organic food were health issues, while the high price was declared as the main barrier.

Sustainable Foods: Consumer Opinions and Behaviour towards Organic Fruits in Poland

“…Most respondents indicated the possibility of paying 10% more (n = 303) and 20% more (n = 154) compared to market prices. The general acceptance of price increases for organic apples differs by around 20% compared to conventional apples The price gap has also been confirmed in other studies [48]. In a Chilean study by Cerda et al 2012, the Fuji variety, organic production methods, the apples being sweet and the lowest price were the apple attributes that led consumers to purchase apples.…”

“…These results can be used to target different age groups of consumers. Figure 7 shows that young respondents (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39) most prefer a variety of apple products and the middle-aged (40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59) and the oldest (60+) the least. All of them most prefer juices, and the young almost equally prefer smoothies and smooth mousses.…”

Initial Insight into the Environmental Awareness of Employees in the Catering Sector in the City of Rybnik, Silesia

“…However, it should be borne in mind that this result may be connected to the region the survey was conducted in [49] and the number of respondents. In another current study on mothers of young children conducted in the western part of Poland [50] it was found that there was a statistically significant correlation between education level and consumption of organic food. It was also previously found in a wider study conducted on Polish citizens [51].…”

Risk-indicative or sustainable consumption? Consumers’ risk perception on conventional and organic food products in Poland

“…https://journals.agh.edu.pl/geol Mazur-Włodarczyk K., Wódkowska A., Gruszecka-Kosowska A. Consumers' risk perception towards conventional and organic food consumption behaviour in Poland has also been investigated by Woś et al (2022) andDudziak &Kocira (2022). However, both surveys had a limited range of respondents: the first study focused on mothers of children up to 6 years of age (Woś et al 2022) and the second on the inhabitants of one province in Poland -Lublin Province (Dudziak & Kocira 2022). The relationship between a low-quality diet and selected metabolic diseases in Poland was investigated by Gajda et al (2023).…”