Consumers' Risk Perception Of Food Safety: An Empirical Study

The main aim of this article is to analyze the characteristics and mechanism of risk perception of food safety based on the empirical evidences of domestic consumers. The difference of risk perception between western consumers and domestic consumers, and the policy implications of the findings are also discussed. Several surveys were conducted to investigate consumers'risk perception of food purchasers, risk perception of food safety, factors affecting consumers'risk perception of food safety, consumers'information demand, relationship between consumer trust and risk perception, factors effecting consumers'trust in mechanism of government, factors effecting consumers'trust in food suppliers. Three experiments were carried out to test the influences of factors such as knowledge, information bias, consumer trust, acceptability of food, and information category on risk communication. The empirical study reveals the particularity of domestic consumers'risk perception of food safety. Firstly, there are analogical dimensions of risk perception between domestic consumers and western consumers, and that food safety is the main concern of the food purchasers. Secondly, there exists perception error in that consumers may overestimate or underestimate the risk of food safety. Thirdly,risk perception of domestic consumers can be affected by factors of serious consequence and helplessness. Fourthly, the results support the associationist view that risk perception and trust are independent indicators of the acceptability of food and trust is not driving factor of risk perception of food safety. Fifthly, source trust affects the outcome of risk communication of positive information in that only information issued from source that consumer trust exceeds the threshold can lower the level of risk perception, whereas source trust has nothing to do with the efficiency of negative information communication. Sixthly, both negativity bias and extremity bias affect the efficiency of risk communication simultaneously. Seventhly, the experiments find evidences supporting the view that there is anti-confirmation bias in risk communication. Eighthly, consumer trust in mechanism of government or food supplier is rather driven by practice conducts than by characteristic of the organization. Ninthly, consumers with lower level of risk perception trust in marketing sources, while consumers with higher level of risk perception believe consumer and neutral sources. Risk perception of food safety of domestic consumers is quite different from the western consumers. The results offer both theoretical and practical implications.