Consumer perceptions of food risks and responsibility

K. Roininen* (1), S. Leikas (2), M. Lindeman (2) and L. Lähteenmäki (1)

(1) VTT Biotechnology, Finland;

(2) University of Helsinki, Department of Psychology, Finland

 katariina.roininenvtt.fi

Food-related risks vary from nutritional risks related to our everyday food choices to risks that we cannot estimate as their causes or impact is not yet fully understood. The aim of the study was to examine how consumers perceive food-related nutritional, microbial and chemical risks and   responsibility for reducing these risks. Representative sample of Finnish internet users (N=1270) evaluated six risk-related descriptions on dioxin, fat quality, EHEC bacteria, BSE (risks of these are known); plant sterols, genetic modification (possible risks of these are not fully known) along thirteen attribute ratings used earlier in risk perception studies. The perceived responsibility over controlling the risks was rated for four targets, namely oneself, industry, society, and retailers.  

Separate factor analysis of unknown and known risks formed three factors of which dread and knowledge were common for both types of risks. The third factor could be named as tampering with nature for unknown risks and permanency of consequences for known risks. Consumers recognised personal responsibility for food safety, but, this responsibility was dependent on the risk. In general, respondents felt that they have personal responsibility for choosing the quality of fat but not for avoiding EHEC bacteria or BSE.

Respondents who perceived themselves to be responsible for unknown food risks and those who did not consider themselves to have responsibility of known risks perceived lower dread of these risks suggesting that the dread is reduced when the respondent feels that she/he has no need to control over the  unknown or has lower responsibility of known risks. In whole, the perceived responsibility varied between different types of risks with the largest difference in own vs. external responsibility, so that nutritional choices are regarded as being on one’s own responsibility whereas lowering chemical and microbial risks should be managed by retailers, industry and authorities.

Key words: food, risk perceptions, responsibility

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This study is part of the Consumers’ perceptions of food-related risks project supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland..