Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 8 (11): 1734-1738, 2009 ISSN 1680-5194 © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2009 1734 The Features Taken into Consideration by the Consumers in Konya, Turkey, When Purchasing a Food Product Nazan Aktas, Ebru Bayrak and Didem Onay Department of Nutrition Education, Faculty of Vocational Education, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey Abstract: The studies into the effect of diet on health have yielded consumer awareness and attention into the quality standards of the food products they purchase. The aim of this study is to investigate some quality and safety features taken into consideration by consumers at the time of shopping. The study was conducted on 332 consumers in Konya, Turkey. The descriptive survey model was used in the study and the data were collected through a questionnaire. The relationships between the participants’ educational level and their attention to some variables like price, brand, contents, production date, expiry date, nutrition value, package, ease of use and healthfulness and to some quality stamps such as TSI, HACCP, HALAL and ISO were investigated in the study. It was also aimed to determine whether there was a relationship between the participants’ educational status and their knowledge level about what HACCP was. The results of the study revealed that the consumers paid more attention to the quality features of the food products they purchased as their educational level increased (p<0.05). Key words: Food purchase, food quality, food products INTRODUCTION Throughout the world, especially in the developed and in some developing countries, there is an increasing consideration to the “health-diet” interaction. The idea that food habits have a direct influence on one’s health is certainly not new; however, the attention paid to this link is increasing due to some factors. On the one hand, there is a considerable amount of ongoing research that yields new insights regarding the relation between food habits and the increase or decrease of the incidence of varies ailments, such as certain types of cancer and different forms of cardiovascular diseases. These scientific developments have not only resulted in extensive literature on the impact of food habits on health, but also in quite practical dietary advice. On the other hand, there is an increased attention to the ‘health- diet’ interaction as a result of the combination of enough safe food in the Western world and the unhealthy food and lifestyle habits of many individuals (WHO, 2000; Astrup, 2004). The quality and freshness of the food products are among the important factors that affect health (Anonymous, 2002). Consumers have the right to purchase and consume the high-quality, healthy, safety, sustainable and affordable food (Pekcan, 2001). In the developed countries, the basic principle in food consumption is to ensure healthy, sufficient and safe nutrition for public by taking necessary precautions to prevent misinformation and deception about food products (Anonymous, 2002). Consumers expect the products to be affordable, easily usable and safe, therefore it is important to meet the requirements set by HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) and use the techniques that ensure the quality standards to tolerate the microbiological and chemical risks which are likely to occur during the production process (Anonymous, 2004). Food purchasing behaviour is directly affected by a number of factors such as consumers’ knowledge of nutrition principles, financial constraints, availability of food supplies and cultural beliefs and attitudes about food and health in general (Beto et al., 1997). Consumers often face a large number of alternatives when purchasing retail food products. The growth in consumer demand for high-quality products is causing changes in the functioning of the food processing and marketing sectors and in government regulation of these sectors (Mojduszka, 2001). Factors affecting consumers’ choices are important in marketing, product development and decision making and thus they have been studied by several workers. Brand, price, nutritional information, demographics, attitudes and previous experience are well established factors affecting purchase intentions in this respect (Bower and Turner, 2001). In view of the related literature, it was aimed to examine the relationship between the participants’ educational level and their attention to some variables like price, brand, contents, production date, expiry date, nutrition value, package, ease of use and healthfulness and to some quality stamps such as TSI, HACCP, HALAL, ISO. It was also aimed to determine whether there was a relationship between the participants’ educational status and their knowledge level about what HACCP was.