Factors affecting consumers' awareness of food safety

Abstract

The objective of this research is to determine the factors affecting the food safety awareness of consumers in the urban areas of Samsun Province in Turkey. In this research, food safety awareness level was divided into three classes: low, medium and high. Survey data obtained from 384 consumers was analyzed with the Ordered Probit Model. The results indicated that socio-economic variables (gender, education and household income) and behavioral variables (consumption of organic food and consumption of low priced genetically modified food) had considerable effects on consumers' awareness of food safety. The results also showed that if the education level of consumers has increased, the probability of their awareness level would be increased. Furthermore, it was found that women were more sensitive to food safety issues than men. Therefore, firms must develop marketing strategies for woman consumers, and public institutions should make much more effort to increase the awareness level of man consumers.