Misconceptions and their influence on chicken egg consumption pattern, buying behavior and attitudes among the urban and rural communities in Western Province of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Misconceptions and their influence on chicken egg consumption pattern, buying behaviour, and attitudes among the urban and rural communities in Western province of Sri Lanka were investigated. A total of 690 respondents representing Colombo, Gampaha, and Kalutara districts were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire. Chi-square analysis and the descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. According to the results, 67.1% of respondents believed that the village chicken eggs are more nutritious than the commercial chicken eggs. The majority (95.4%) did not accept the fact that the brown eggs are nutritionally sound than the white shelled eggs. Of the total respondents, 46.2% trusted that the daily consumption of chicken eggs can lead to hypercholesterolemia and increases the risk of cardiac disorders. Information derived from the general public and social media were identified as the main sources of the misconceptions discussed. In conclusion, of all misconceptions tested two misconceptions: (1) the eggs from village chicken are nutritious than the commercial chicken eggs and (2) the chicken eggs when consumed daily can increase the risk of cardiac disorders, do exists. The study further concluded that the majority of the participants are willing to change their attitudes if it is guaranteed that both the village and commercial chicken eggs are coequally nutritious, and both white and brown eggs are safe to eat daily, infertile, and coequally nutritious.