© 2001 Blackwell Science Ltd International Journal of Consumer Studies, 25, 1, March 2001, pp43–52 | 43 Perception of food safety and changes in food consumption habits: a consumer analysis Arbindra Rimal 1 , Stanley M. Fletcher 2 , K. H. McWatters 3 , Sukant K. Misra 4 and S. Deodhar 5 1 Department of Agriculture-Agribusiness Southwest Missouri State University 2 Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, The University of Georgia 3 Department of Food Science and Technology, The Unversity of Georgia 4 Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Texas Tech University 5 Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India 50% of the respondents said they preferred to buy organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables, yet only a quarter said they actually bought them on a regular basis. 3 In the USA, many local and national surveys have revealed consumer concern regarding fat and choles- terol content of foods, pesticides and microbial conta- mination. Such concerns are likely to translate into market behaviour. Therefore, food industry and gov- ernment policy makers will have to respond to con- sumers’ health concerns without significantly increasing costs to them. 4 In this regard, inconsistency in consumer attitude and behaviour becomes particularly important. The Alar controversy associated with apples in 1989 and the post-Alar phenomenon revealed that although con- sumers expressed concern about food safety, they were not willing to pay a premium price for organically grown food or to accept cosmetic damage. 5 This raises the question as to how the industry should respond to consumer safety concerns. Food irradiation, for example, is a likely response to consumers’ safety concern that has not been widely adopted by the indus- try due to the uncertainty about consumer acceptance. According to Packer magazine, some consumers altered their buying habits between 1989 and 1990 due to the concern about pesticide residues in fresh produce, although the change was not significant. In contrast, more than 50% of the respondents in a University of Georgia survey maintained their purchase pattern of fresh produce despite the perceived high risks from pes- ticide residues. 6 In this study, the relationship between seven types of food safety concerns and the corre- sponding change in food consumption habits is evalu- ated. First, the study examines the gap between public concerns and corresponding change in food consump- tion habits. Second, it evaluates the impact of socio- economic and attitude variables on perceived food safety threats and on behavioural response to food safety threats. Abstract The relationship between seven types of food safety con- cerns and the corresponding change in food consumption habits of 236 households in Georgia, USA was evaluated. Results showed a gap between food safety concerns and food consumption habits. Gaps were particularly evident in the cases of pesticide residues, animal drug residues, growth hormones and bacteria. For example, more than 54% of sample households were extremely concerned about pes- ticide residues, but only 35% actually took extreme precau- tion in buying items considering this perceived threat. The study indicated that educating consumers about preventive methods to reduce food safety threats will lead to reduced concerns and changes in food consumption habits. Keywords Food safety concern, consumption habit, know- ledge, demographics. Introduction Consumers’ actual behaviour is often inconsistent with their reported attitudes or concerns. This is particularly true with regard to health risks. Many consumers express concern about food safety, yet relatively few appear to be changing their food buying behaviour in view of their concern. 1 For example, a survey by the NPD (National Panel Diary) group in the USA evaluating the gap between consumer attitude and behaviour reported that people expressing concern about health problems associated with french fry con- sumption rose to 39% between 1985 and 1990, yet the number eating them at least once in 2 weeks declined just 7%. 2 In a national survey in the USA, more than Correspondence A. Rimal, 206 Karls Hall, Southwest Missouri State University, 901 South National Avenue, Springfield, MO 65804, USA. E-mail: arr412f@smsu.edu