Consumer concern about food safety hazards along the vegetables value chain in Bangladesh

Abstract

The study analyzes consumer concerns regarding food safety hazards along Bangladesh's major vegetable value chain. By collecting data from a consumer survey of 140 samples, the study investigated the worries about chemical, biological, and lifestyle hazards of major vegetables. The findings reveal that consumers' concerns about chemical, biological, and lifestyle hazards varied significantly depending on their education level, marital status, occupation, and income. Consumers are most concerned about chemical hazards, while they are least concerned about lifestyle hazards. More precisely, consumer concerns about chemical hazards are significantly and positively associated with education, income, marital status, and sources of information; biological hazards are significantly and positively affected by education, marital status, family size, sources of information, and presence of a child in the family; and lifestyle hazards are significantly and positively affected by education, income, marital status, and sources of information. We found that consumer trust in vegetable value chain actors about safe food practices is significantly and negatively related to food safety concerns. The government should provide customers with additional data to assist them in identifying the inherent food safety and quality attributes.

Keywords

• Food safety
• Consumer concern
• Vegetables
• Consumers’ trust