Factors influencing Chinese consumer attitudes on the safety of aquatic products

Abstract

Demand for food by Chinese consumers is shifting from necessities to safer food. We conducted an empirical study of 4,221 consumers of aquatic products in China. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting consumer attitudes on the safety of aquatic products using a multinomial ordinal logistic regression model. The majority of the respondents thought the safety of aquatic products was very important, and thus paid more attention to this attribute. Chinese consumers have high preferences for aquatic products. Preference was highest in eastern China, followed by central China, and lowest in western China. Significant factors affecting the attitudes toward aquatic products include the gender, age, and education level of the consumers, consideration for the elderly and children, perceptions of the food safety of aquatic products, and monthly spending on aquatic products. Consideration for the elderly and children and the perceptions of the food safety of aquatic products were the biggest influencing factors.