The Opinions of Diyarbakır Provincial Center Consumers on the Quality of Honey on the Market and the Factors Affecting Their Honey Consumption Preferences

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the thoughts of consumers living in Diyarbakır city center about the quality of honey sold in the market and to determine the factors affecting their honey consumption preferences. The research was carried out in 2022, and the main material of the study consisted of data obtained from face-to-face surveys with consumers living in Diyarbakır city center. In order to collect the data, 4 neighborhoods in the city center were determined to represent the province of Diyarbakır. A total of 281 surveys were conducted, 104 of them in Bağlar, 92 of them in Kayapınar, 55 of them in Yenişehir and 30 of them in Sur. According to the results, 61.9% of the consumers who participated in the survey reported that consuming honey is necessary for health. It has been determined that 58.7% of consumers believe that commercial honey sold in the market is adulterated (added) or imitated (fake). 47% of consumers think that the honey in the market contains drug and antibiotic additives. Consumers have stated that the most important point when purchasing honey is to buy it from a familiar seller. In order to understand the quality of honey, it has been observed that consumers pay more attention to its price (29.2%). Consumers said that they found comb honey more reliable by 36.7%. As a result, in order to increase honey consumption, it is necessary to increase the promotion of honey consumption, to inform consumers about commercial honey, to ensure that the honey in the market is healthy and reliable in terms of food safety in the form of organic, sugar-free and certified honey, and consumers should be adequately informed about fake or fraudulent honeys in the market.