Investigation of women's attitudes and behaviors about food safety: The case of Mersin province

Nutrition is the most basic and simple need of living things. Food should be healthy, clean and intact until it comes to our table, and should not harm human health. Developments with globalization, increasing food trade, climate changes, economic and political reasons, change in eating habits and increasing population have brought some negativities in accessing healthy and reliable food. The aim of this study is to examine the attitudes and behaviors of women living in the central district of Mersin province about food safety. In this context, the results of a face-to-face survey conducted with 165 women shopping for food were analyzed in the SPSS 29.0 package. It was determined that 64.6% of the women had heard the concept of food safety before, while 35.4% were not aware of this concept. It was determined that the women participating in the survey care about criteria such as price, brand, appearance, taste, quality and promotions given next to the product when purchasing a food product. In addition, it was observed that he looked at the expiry date of the food and always checked the packaging, but did not pay attention to the information about the place of production, nutritional value, additives and compliance with the Turkish food codex written in the label content section. 53.1% of women with primary school and below education level and 64.9% of women with undergraduate education level think that they are conscious consumers. It was determined that 74.5% of the women participating in the survey had an idea about the Turkish Standards Institute but did not know about other food safety systems. Women mostly obtain information about food safety through the internet, TV programs and radio. 36.4% of the women surveyed had previously experienced food poisoning. 87.8% of the women stated that inspections, controls and compliance with the legislation on food safety were not sufficient, and 70% stated that they had not heard of the Alo 174 Food Line. A statistically significant relationship was found between women's education levels and their willingness to pay extra for products that are fully provided by food safety. According to 55.2% of women, the most important responsibility in ensuring food safety falls on official institutions. This should be followed by food producers, consumers, distributors and sellers, respectively.