Determination of consumer perception about food safety and food security

Today's developing technologies and social situations have changed the food purchasing situation of consumers. This survey study was conducted to determine the level of knowledge of consumers about purchasing behavior and food safety. This study, which is aimed at consumers aged 18 and over, was sent to 1200 people via this link, which was prepared on Google Forms, and the results were obtained over the internet. IBM SPSS program was used in the analysis. It has been determined that consumers pay attention to %70,5 product content when purchasing food products. It has been determined that % 63,3 of consumers are affected by discount days while purchasing food, and %66,5 are affected by affordable products. When our consumers were asked about the wearing of gloves during their food purchases, %52,1 of our consumers stated that some sellers wore gloves, and % 56,7 of our consumers stated that some of the sellers who wear gloves contacted other places other than the product. %84,8 of our consumers agreed to pay extra for safe food. They stated that 80.3% of consumers know the definition of food safety. When we asked about the definition of food safety, they gave %71 correct answers. They stated that %70,7 of them are subject experts and %59,7 of them are scientific articles and books as the most trusted tool by our consumers about food. When asked about whether today's foods are safer than in the past, %50,3 of our consumers stated that they are safer. Even though our consumers have a high level of knowledge about food safety, they have incomplete information on some issues. Informing them should be communicated to the consumers by the state both in brochures and advertisements.