Version 1
: Received: 6 September 2023 / Approved: 7 September 2023 / Online: 8 September 2023 (04:11:22 CEST)
Version 2
: Received: 8 September 2023 / Approved: 11 September 2023 / Online: 11 September 2023 (11:17:48 CEST)
Simoglou, K.B.; Skarpa, P.E.; Roditakis, E. Pesticide Safety in Greek Plant Foods from the Consumer Perspective: The Importance of Reliable Information. Agrochemicals2023, 2, 484-502.
Simoglou, K.B.; Skarpa, P.E.; Roditakis, E. Pesticide Safety in Greek Plant Foods from the Consumer Perspective: The Importance of Reliable Information. Agrochemicals 2023, 2, 484-502.
Simoglou, K.B.; Skarpa, P.E.; Roditakis, E. Pesticide Safety in Greek Plant Foods from the Consumer Perspective: The Importance of Reliable Information. Agrochemicals2023, 2, 484-502.
Simoglou, K.B.; Skarpa, P.E.; Roditakis, E. Pesticide Safety in Greek Plant Foods from the Consumer Perspective: The Importance of Reliable Information. Agrochemicals 2023, 2, 484-502.
Abstract
Greek consumers perceive an increased risk of pesticide residues in food. This study examined Greek consumers' perceptions on the safety of Greek plant-based food compared to those originating from other EU countries. Half of Greek consumers believe that Greek food is as safe as other European foods, while the other half disagree. According to a principal components analysis and a bivariate logistic regression, several factors, such as perceived safety of plant foods, education, age, gender, traceability, perceived benefits and risks of pesticides, actual pesticide use, and authoritative information sources, influence this attitude. Authoritative knowledge in this field can reduce risk perception and improve Greek consumers’ attitudes towards food safety. Latent class analysis identified two categories of consumers. The first class receives limited information about pesticides, leading to a lower perceived pesticide benefits, higher mistrust of traceability and concerns about pesticide residues. In contrast, the second class actively searches for information from credible sources, endorses the Greek plant foods safety, acknowledges the pesticides benefits, and trust traceability. Official information is associated to reduced risk perception. Regulators should consider the impact of socio-demographic and other intrinsic characteristics on individuals' risk perceptions and prioritise transparency in risk communication strategies.
Keywords
food safety; risk perception; information sources; principal components analysis; logistic regression; latent class analysis; risk communication
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Agricultural Science and Agronomy
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Commenter: Konstantinos B. Simoglou
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author