Thinking Food Safety: The Consumers’ Perception

Abstract

The issue of Food safety has always been at the heart of international debates. The expression “Food safety” is used to designate the hygiene and safety of foodstuffs and the commitment to prevent unintentional contaminations from pathogenic agents. This paper aims at investigating consumers’ perception and behaviour on food safety topics. A survey was carried out to define the Millennials’ comprehension of different meanings of food safety. Results showed that food safety is an important feature in the purchasing process of foodstuffs. Moreover, respondents are worried as to the occurrence of harmful substances in food and the lack of hygiene and health checks, and they believe that cleanliness and hygiene of stores contribute to create a stronger perception of food safety.