CONSUMER ATTITUDES TOWARD FOOD SAFETY ISSUES

The objectives of this study were to survey consumer attitudes about the safety of the food supply in general, then relate general concern levels with groups of specific items of concern, regulatory issues, and prioritization of food safety funding areas. Factor analysis of 419 consumer responses showed six factors (chemical, health, spoilage, and regulatory issues, deceptive practices, and ideal situations) underlying the 31 specific items evaluated on individual 5-point scales (1 = no concern, 5 = very strong concern). MANOVA using general level of food safety concern (independent variable) and the six scaled variables was significant, Univariate tests showed that as general level of concern with food safety increased, so did concern with chemical issues (hormones in meat, poultry, and milk, food additives, preservatives, irradiation, pesticide residues, artificial colors, natural toxins, plastic packaging, and nitrates), health issues (fat, cholesterol, calories, sugar, and vitamin content), and spoilage issues (food preparation, refrigerated, pasteurized, and shelf-stable foods, microbial contamination, and restaurant sanitation).