Young consumers' perception of food safety and their trust in official food control agencies

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of the research was to investigate how young consumers perceive food safety and if they trust that official food control agencies or other actors of food supply chains ensure a proper level of safety of food in Poland. The purpose of the paper was also to find out if young consumers are currently concerned that a proper level of food safety is not ensured.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis was based on a data set from 650 questionnaires collected in an online survey carried out in October 2020 and addressed to the group of young consumers, students of Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland. The analysis was carried out using standard methods of qualitative data analysis (QDA), descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation coefficient and Pearson’s chi-square test.FindingsLess than a half of Polish young consumers consider food to be safe and many other do not have an opinion about this matter. Young consumers do not perceive official agencies in charge of food control as the most responsible for food safety, and they either do not trust these institutions or have no opinion about it. Young consumers declare that food producers and food processing businesses are the most responsible for food safety while retailers and consumers are the least responsible ones. The majority of young consumers are not concerned about ensuring proper food safety.Originality/valueUp-to-date young consumers' perception of the role and trust in official food control agencies and food safety in Poland have not been investigated, which makes this study a novelty. The findings can be valuable to official agencies in charge of food control and consumer education, to improve their functioning. They can also be important as a basis for further studies, as young consumers’ attitudes and trust in official food control agencies can change.

Safety vs. Sustainability Concerns of Infant Food Users: French Results and European Perspectives

“…Nevertheless, improving food safety and sustainability necessitates the participation and cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders, including the food industry but also the household level. In a recent study [15], young generations showed little concern about food safety and limited trust in food control agencies. They hold food producers and food processing companies as mainly responsible for food safety, while retailers and consumers were perceived as the least responsible ones.…”

Consumers attitude toward lack of food safety

“…Food safety is very important because the food we eat has an impact on our health. Food safety is a significant characteristic of food for consumers (Badrie et al, 2006;Grunert, 2005;Rohr et al, 2005;Bukachi et al, 2021;New Food Magazine, 2021;Bolek, 2020;Franc-Da ˛browska et al, 2021;Jenkins et al, 2021). The high importance of food safety is caused by the fact that food is a product that satisfies one of the most important physiological needs of a humanthe need to eat (Maslov, 2009).…”

“…, 2005; Bukachi et al. , 2021; New Food Magazine, 2021; Bolek, 2020; Franc-Dąbrowska et al. , 2021; Jenkins et al.…”

Infant food users' perceptions of safety: A web-based analysis approach

“…Nevertheless, improving food safety necessitates the cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders, including the household level. The results of a recent study (Franc-Dabrowska et al, 2021) highlight that public awareness is needed, and food chain stakeholders need to be trained and organized to contribute to the collective effort required to improve food safety from farm to fork. This is why in the present paper, the focus is on perceptions of infant food safety for different food products at the level of infant food users and primarily parents.…”