Exploring Consumers’ Safety Anxiety about the Food Environment in South Korea

Abstract

The diversification of food sources has increased consumers’ safety anxiety about the food environment in South Korea. This study aimed to investigate the level of consumers’ safety anxiety about the food environment across six food source groups and factors related to the anxiety. Data were collected from 1,126 adults aged 20∼59 years using an online survey. Among the six food source groups consisting of 31 product items, the anxiety level about ‘imported agricultural and fishery products’ was highest (3.49 out of 5 points), followed by that of ‘foods from commercial and institutional foodservice’ (3.44). Gender, the age of the youngest child, and the level of health concern were related to consumers’ safety anxiety about the food environment. Women (OR=1.72) were more likely to be anxious than men. Consumers whose youngest child was 12 years or younger (OR=1.66) were more likely to be anxious than those whose youngest child was over 12 years of age. Consumers with a high level of health concern (OR=1.50) were more likely to be anxious than those with a low level of health concern. In conclusion, the levels of consumers’ safety anxiety differed according to the food source group and the consumers’ characteristics. It is recommended that governments and food companies should develop differentiated communication strategies that consider such differences in order to decrease unnecessary consumers’ safety anxiety about the food environment.