The effects of consumer perception of food safety and quality in food purchase decisions

Publication date: 13/11/2023
Extent: 36 pages

Contributions by: Anne Wilcock, University of Guelph, Canada; Kathryn A. Boys, North Carolina State University, USA; and Brita Ball, University of Guelph, Canada

Chapter synopsis:

Consumers expect their food to be safe and of high quality. However, food safety issues can and do occur. This chapter covers a wide range of topics that explain consumer perceptions of food safety and quality and how they relate to subsequent purchase decisions. It begins with a discussion of the numerous factors that consumers consider as they make decisions about what food to purchase. It examines consumers’ intent to purchase specific types of food and how intent is correlated with purchase behaviour per se. Finally, the recent Covid-19 pandemic is known to have affected consumer perceptions of safety in general. This chapter ends with a discussion of how the pandemic has affected consumer perceptions of food safety and, ultimately, their purchase behaviour. Recognizing the broad scope of this topic, the discussion in this chapter focuses on recent studies of purchase behaviour by North American and European consumers.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2023.0129.17